Data Collection and Transparency

The Problem

When it comes to policing, lawmakers and the public do not have even the most basic information about what their local police do. We do not know how many people are stopped each year by police, or even killed. We also lack basic data about how many complaints police departments receive and how much taxpayer money is spent to compensate victims of police misconduct. We cannot hope to improve policing for all our communities when police don’t collect or share data about their work. 

The Solution

The Policing Project’s model statute ensures that the public can access basic information about each law enforcement agency and officer conduct. It also ensures that communities statewide are collecting and sharing the same data. Finally, it provides robust enforcement mechanisms to ensure police agencies collect and share data as required by law.  

To view our two-pager summarizing the key provisions of this statute, click here. 
To read the Policing Project’s Police Data Collection and Transparency Model Statute, click here.