A more enthusiastic supporter of open data than I you will not easily find, but I must respectfully disagree with this opinion. The problems with policing in this country will not be solved by more open data. https://twitter.com/BeeckCenter/status/1273620399021006855

The solution to one of the major problems with policing in this country begins and ends with police and city leadership having the ability to meaningfully reprimand (and fire) officers that violate procedures and use of excessive force.

Consider the example of Philadelphia. Around 2013, when I was working as the city's first CDO, we pioneered the release of data on complaints against police officers. Since then the city has opened up even more data sets on police complaints. https://www.opendataphilly.org/dataset?q=police+complaints

And all the while, as we were opening up those data sets and after, the Philadelphia Police Department was rehiring officers reprimanded and fired for all variety of infractions, including use of excessive force. https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/police-officers-get-jobs-back/2110725/

I'm still pretty bitter about it.

And this isn't an isolated situation. All across the country, labor contracts with police unions prevent police brass from removing problem officers. "Leaning into transparency" won't fix this, even if it is the right thing to do.

The one thing that matters most in the current debate on police reform is making sure that police leadership can take action against problem officers, or those that break the rules, and ensure that IT STICKS.

Without that, no amount of new open data will fix the problem.