> If we used statistics to guide criminal justice policy we’d be in big trouble

Uh... we do use statistics to guide criminal justice policy? Not sure I understand what you're saying. How do you think they decide where to police and what to prosecute? How they decide on legislative penalties? It's true that this process isn't necessarily 100% data based, and in a bunch of ways ends up very unfair, but it's absolutely driven by a mostly-sincere attempt to get the most social good out of our limited enforcement and regulatory budgets.