Opportunities and Challenges for Criminal Justice in the Era of Big Data

On Dec. 12, 2025, the University of Washington School of Law, Hanoi Law University and the People's Police Academy of Vietnam co-sponsored a conference in Hanoi titled “Opportunities and Challenges for Criminal Justice in the Era of Big Data.” The interdisciplinary conference was organized as a way for the academic community to collaborate with policymakers and technologists in order to help reshape global criminal justice systems within the context of this new era of big data. UW Law professors Mary D. Fan, David Garavito, Xuan-Thao Nguyen and Dongsheng Zang, presented their work on the implications of big data searches, parole hearings and DNA data processing in criminal justice systems.

The conference was preceded by a formal ceremony to honor Professor Nguyen with the title of Honorary Professor from Hanoi Law University and the Vietnam Ministry of Education and Training. She is the first female professor to ever receive the Full Professor ranking from Hanoi Law University. Immediately following the ceremony, Professor Nguyen helped kick start the conference with a formal lecture titled “Global AI Divide: Convergence of Investments, Power and New Inequality.” Read more about the international conference.