CA Police Department Joins Dashboard To Report Data

The West Sacramento, Ca., Police Department will become one of the first in the nation to adopt new national measures developed by community leaders and police experts from, reports the Daily Democrat. Measures for Justice, a nonprofit that focuses on making criminal justice data available to encourage reform, said it will be tracking the department’s performance and practice and making the information available to the public through their Commons dashboard.“ Measures for Justice has been working for three years to develop a national set of police measures with input from community leaders and police experts,” said the group's Amy Bach. “The only way our criminal justice system can improve is by monitoring its performance, isolating what works and what doesn’t, and developing interventions based on fact. For all this work, data is critical.”

The Yolo County, Ca., District Attorney’s Office and the Yolo County Multi-Cultural Council partnered with Measures for Justice. last year to provide monthly data on court cases to be shared with the community. Measures for Justice formed a Police Data Council and is working with the nonprofit Center for Open Data Enterprise (CODE) to convene a diverse group of community leaders, scholars and advocates to create the framework for a national set of police measures. The measures will cover various aspects of policing including trust in the department and perceptions of legitimacy, use of force, "least harm" practices, accountability, officer wellness and safety, fiscal needs and responsibility and recruitment and training.