Presentation from the “Uncomfortable Data” session of the “Our World, Our Data” conference held at at MIT Media Lab on April 30, 2017. Organized by Safecast with sponsorship from the Shuttleworth Fund. Many thanks to Joi Ito, Director of the MIT Media Lab, and Ethan Zuckerman and Lorrie LeJeune of The Center for Civic Media. https://www.media.mit.edu/events/our-world-our-data/

1. Denice Ross
Public Interest Tech Fellow
@denicewross
Police Data Initiative
policedatainitiative.org
@policeopendata

2. DEC 2014
Dallas police answer shooting critics by releasing data

3. Officer-Involved-Shootings data
Case #
Date
Location
Subject deceased, injured, not
Subject weapon
Subject name, race, gender
Officer name, race, gender
Grand Jury disposition
Attorney General Forms URL

6. APR 2015
14 police departments each
committed to 3+ datasets

7. TODAY
134 police departments

8. More than 200 data sets released…
• Use of force
- Officer-involved shootings
• Pedestrian and motor
vehicle stops
• Citizen complaints
• Assaults on officers
• Body/dashboard camera
- Metadata and/or video
• Community engagement
• 911 calls for service
• Force demographics
• trainings
• Arrest reports
- Resisting arrest
• Naloxone saves
• Bicycle/ped accidents

9. WALLKILL, NY
TRAFFIC STOPS

10. DANVILLE, VA
FORCE DEMOGRAPHICS

11. BURLINGTON, VT
CITIZEN COMPLAINTS

12. Burlington Police Department
Online Citizen Complaint Form

13. LOUISVILLE, KY
HATE CRIMES

15. NEW ORLEANS, LA
July 2015
nopd.showRecords(1000);
Photo credit: Tyler Gamble NOPD

16. ORLANDO, FL
January 2016

17. TUCSON, AZ
Nov 2016

18. ”"We want to be
better and can't
do it without the
community."
COMMISSIONER KEVIN DAVIS
BALTIMORE POLICE DEPARTMENT
Photo credit: Baltimore Police Department

19. New Orleans Traffic Stop Data

21. Austin, TX Response to Resistance Data

23. 2

24. “You can be an ostrich
as a leader, and bury
your head in the sand,
or you can be forward-
thinking and be scanning
the environment
constantly for threats or
for opportunities to do
better.”
ART ACAVEDO
Austin Police Chief

25. Orlando Officer-Involved-Shooting Data

26. "If you look at the merits of each
individual case and the
investigation, it is clear that race
doesn't factor into the decision
for an officer to use deadly
force," Chief Mina said.
But Natalie Jackson, a civil rights
attorney, said the numbers were
concerning, especially when
considering the Orlando
population is about 28% black.

27. Photo credit: Austin Police
Department
”This isn’t our
data, it’s the
people’s data.
ART ACEVEDO,
AUSTIN POLICE CHIEF

28. Denice Ross
Public Interest Tech Fellow
@denicewross
Police Data Initiative
policedatainitiative.org
@policeopendata