This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The Salt Lake City Police Department announced it is the first law enforcement agency in Utah to publish use of force data through an interactive, user-friendly tool on its website.
The online tool provides the community with an in-depth look at all force used by SLCPD officers, according to a news release, which says the development is part of the department' participation in the White House's Police Data Initiative.
The data represents preliminary figures and shows summary information for cases in which use of force occurs. Whenever an officer uses force, the officer must document why force was used, the type of force used, and the effects on the subject, the news release said.
The website allows the user to view the data in a variety of different ways; including breakdowns of city council districts, time periods, contact reasons, subject demographics, police tools used, subject resistance and effects of force on the subject.
Also, the data can be displayed in the user's choice of different graph types.
The tool can be found by visiting the new Use of Force section on the SLCPD website at: http://slcpd.com/community/use-of-force/.
In 2014, President Obama launched the Task Force on 21st Century Policing to identify the best means to provide an effective collaboration between law enforcement and local communities that reduces crime and increases trust
In response to several of the Task Force recommendations that speak to the importance of technology and transparency, in May 2015 the White House launched the Police Data Initiative, a community of practice that includes leading law enforcement agencies, technologists, and researchers committed to improving the relationship between citizens and police through uses of data that increase transparency, build community trust, and strengthen accountability.
Last week, the The White House announced that 53 jurisdictions, covering more than 41 million people, had committed to the Police Data Initiative, with over 90 data sets released. "These commitments represent concrete steps toward building trust and speak to a larger shift in the culture of policing that is at the core of the Task Force's recommendations," according to a White House news release.