The Police Transparency Index

• In Event: Using Data and Research to Redefine Public Safety

Abstract

After the Summer 2020 uprisings over the police killings of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and others, many US communities that were struggling to redefine the role of police realized how little information is available about what police do. To assess the national state of police data transparency, Vera created the Police Transparency Index (PTI), an online tool that assigns transparency scores out of 100 to a sample of 93 jurisdictions containing 25% of the US population. The PTI scoring criteria were designed in consultation with varied community members and carefully calibrated to measure both the availability and accessibility of police data.

Vera found widespread gaps in data availability and accessibility. Few sampled locales earned scores above 50. Unavailable data included critical incidents (police involved shootings, non-fatal use of force, police misconduct) as well as routine activities (arrests, traffic and pedestrian stops, calls for service). Vera found no correlation between population and transparency, suggesting that even smaller cities can improve their police data offerings. Vera recommends steps to increase transparency in ways designed to enable local communities’ access to information on local policing practices, identify appropriate responses to health and social service needs, center racial equity in public safety, and reduce reliance on policing.

Authors

• Frankie Wunschel, Vera Institute of Justice

• Daniel Bodah, Vera Institute of Justice