Welcome Improving Police Use of Force: A Closer Look at Data Collection April 22, 2016 N ATIONAL A SSOCIATION FOR C IVILIAN O VERSIGHT OF L AW E NFORCEMENT

Introduction Use of Force Data and Information Improves Knowledge and Awareness “Measurement is the first step that leads to control and eventually to improvement If you can’t measure something, you can’t understand it If you can’t understand it, you can’t control it If you can’t control it, you can’t improve it” If you can’t control it, you can’t improve it” Attributed to U.S. businessman H. James Harrington

Introduction Knowledge and Awareness Facilitates Control Data can help to control police use of force through training, supervision and policy development Such control may reduce its incidence, as well as prevent organizational accidents related to it

So, What is the Problem? Lack of Data and Information Has Led To a Fundamental Public Misunderstanding About Police Use Force At present, we do not have a good national understanding of police use of force because we do not have good measures Police currently lack accurate and timely data on use of force incidents Emotional arguments replace logic and reasoning

One Proposed Solution U.S. Law Enforcement Needs a More Flexible, In-depth Use of Force Data System A comprehensive and incident-based system with micro-level details about use of force (e.g., NIBRS) Available to law enforcement executives, researchers, legislators, criminal justice students and the general public Aggregate data (FBI UCR, Justifiable Homicide) results in information loss.

One Proposed Solution NIBRS is Superior to UCR; Used to Uncover Patterns and Relationships in: 1.Sexual assault of young children 2.Prostitution of juveniles 3.Predictors of homicide clearance 4.Kidnapping of juveniles 5.Child pornography 6.Intimate partner violence and 7.Violent crime

How Would The System Work? Mandatory Participation From All U.S. Law Enforcement Agencies Uniform specifications similar to National Crime Information Center (NCIC) to ensure data integrity 1.Web-based application maintained by the FBI 2.Migrate legacy data to Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR)

What is the Intended Outcome? A Steady Flow of Information That Indicates Agency Performance The ability to identify the circumstances: 1.When use of force is likely to take place; 2.What form it is likely to take; and 3.The characteristics of the officer, the offender, the location and the situation A more complete picture will emerge of victim, offender and location interaction

What is the Intended Outcome? Proactively Manage Community Expectations, Improve Training, Supervision, Agency Policy…and Answer Mutually Important Policy Questions An incident-driven use of force reporting system will produce more detailed, accurate and meaningful data than that produced by traditional summary data systems Facilitates comparison on emerging use of force patterns, trends and triggering conditions that extend beyond local boundaries

Final Thoughts Only With Sufficient and Reliable Data Can We Estimate The Incidence and Prevalence of Use of Force Only after we have a factual understanding of the nature and extent of use of force can terms such as “crisis,” “epidemic,” “widespread,” “discrimination” and “disparate treatment” be applied in the public discourse To do so beforehand is to allow emotion to hijack rational public discourse, which is irrational, irresponsible and counterproductive to promoting desirable police- community relationships

Thank You Improving Police Use of Force: A Closer Look at Data Collection April 22, 2016 N ATIONAL A SSOCIATION FOR C IVILIAN O VERSIGHT OF L AW E NFORCEMENT

Further Reading This presentation should be used with the paper presented at this conference titled “Improving Police Use of Force: A Closer Look at Data Collection.” That paper offers more detail including the source material and references used during this presentation.