Police use-of-force data is finally coming to light by Megan Rose Dickey.
From the post:
Discouraging:
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Since 2011, less than 3% of the country’s 18,000 state and local police agencies have reported information about police-involved shootings of citizens. That’s because there’s no mandatory federal requirement to do so. There is, however, a mandate in California (Assembly Bill 71) for all police departments to report their use of force incidents that happened after Jan. 1, 2016 by Jan. 1, 2017.
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Winds of Data Change:
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With URSUS, California police departments can use the open-source platform to collect and report use-of-force data, in the cases of serious injuries, to the CA DOJ. Back in February, the CA DOJ unveiled a revamped version of the OpenJustice platform featuring data around arrest rates, deaths in custody, arrest-related deaths and law enforcement officers assaulted on the job.Unlike the first version of OpenJustice, the current platform makes it possible to break down data by specific law enforcement agencies. As URSUS collects data about police use-of-force, OpenJustice will publish that information in its database starting early next year.
Here’s an overview of how the system works:
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Evidence Based Citizen Safety
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In the analysis, Campaign Zero found that only 21 of the 91 police departments reviewed explicitly prohibit officers from using chokeholds. Even more, the average police department reviewed has only adopted three of the eight policies identified that could prevent unnecessary civilian deaths. Not one of the police departments reviewed has implemented all eight.
According to Campaign Zero’s analysis, if the police departments reviewed were to implement all eight of the use-of-force restrictions, there would be a 54% reduction in killings for the average police department.
With the CA DOJ’s new police use-of-force data system, plus initiatives driven by non-profit organizations and the media, we’re definitely moving in the right direction when it comes to transparency around policing. But if we want real change, the rest of the country’s law enforcement agencies are going to need to get on board. If the PRIDE Act passes, police departments nationwide will not only have to make their use-of-force policies publicly available, but also have to report police use-of-force incidents that result in deaths of civilians. But while the government is stepping up its game around policing data, there is still a need for a community-driven initiatives that track police killings of civilians.
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Greater transparency around policing leads to fewer civilian deaths (those folks the police are sworn to serve) and can lead to greater trust/cooperation between the police and the communities they serve. Which means better police work and less danger/stress for police officers.
That’s a win-win situation.
But it starts with data transparency for police activities.
How transparent is your local police department?
Waiting for it to be required by law delays better service to the community and better policing.
Is that a goal of your local police department? You might better ask.