Use Police Transparency

The Police Transparency solution delivers a set of capabilities that help you share information openly with the public, promote your agency’s work, demonstrate accountability when force is used, illustrate how workforce recruiting reflects the diversity of the community, and engage the public to improve policing services.

In this topic, you will learn how to use the Police Transparency solution by assuming various roles and using the solution to answer questions about policing topics of general interest, including understanding crime conditions in your community, learning about law enforcement use of force, discovering police-community engagement opportunities, and exploring the workforce diversity of the law enforcement agency.

Note:

Use your organization's data or configured apps to follow these workflows.

Discover community engagement opportunities

In this section, you will assume the role of a concerned business owner who wants to become more active in working with your local police department and engaging with your community. To perform this role, you will learn how to find your community officer, provide feedback on your experiences with the department, and get information on upcoming police community events in which you can participate.

Find your community officer

To find your community officer, complete the following steps:

1. In a browser, browse to the Police Transparency site and click the Community Engagement tab.
2. Scroll to the Find Your Community Officer section and locate the My Community Officer app.
3. In the search field, type an address and press Enter; alternatively, click a location on the map.

   In the results, you can review the beat, district, division, and community policing areas of your selected location; learn who your community officer is; and find out how to reach out to them.

4. Click a result to see details about an area.
5. To view the boundaries of the area, expand a search result and click the Zoom to result on map button.

Submit feedback on a police interaction

To provide feedback to the department on your recent experience as a crime victim, complete the following steps:

1. In a browser, browse to the Police Transparency site and click the Community Engagement tab.
2. Scroll to the Your Voice Matters! section and under How Did We Do?, click Complete Police Interaction Survey.
3. Complete the Police Interaction Survey to provide your feedback.
4. Click Submit.

Share your perceptions of community safety and police performance

To provide feedback on your interactions with law enforcement in your community, complete the following steps:

1. In a browser, browse to the Police Transparency site and click the Community Engagement tab.
2. Scroll down to the Your Voice Matters! section and under Tell Us What You Think, click Complete Police Satisfaction and Community Safety Survey.
3. Complete the Community Safety and Police Satisfaction Survey to provide your feedback.
4. Click Submit.

Learn about upcoming events

To discover community policing activities in which you can participate, complete the following steps:

1. In a browser, browse to the Police Transparency site, and click the Community Engagement tab.
2. Scroll to the Scheduled Events section to view the calendar.
3. Click an event.

   Here, you can indicate you plan to attend the event, get details and directions for the event, follow the initiative the event is a part of, or share the event on social media.

Note:

The Event Calendar functionality is available only to organizations with Hub Premium. Learn more about creating an event.

Understand crime statistics

In this section, you will assume the role of a resident in the community. You want to learn more about overall crime trends in your community, with a focus on burglary. You are concerned that burglaries are increasing around your home, so you would like to gather information about recent burglaries in your area and print a report. You plan to take this report to an upcoming neighborhood meeting to ask your community policing officer what is happening and how to address the problem.

Examine statistical crime trends

To learn more about overall crime trends in your community, with a focus on burglary, complete the following steps:

1. In a browser, browse to the Police Transparency site and click the Maps & Stats tab.
2. Scroll to the Year-To-Date Crime Statistics section.
   The dashboard in this section displays various major categories of crimes, as defined by the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). These categories are shown as year-to-date percent change statistics and counts by month for the last 12 months.

   Note:

   In January 2021, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) changed to NIBRS from the previous Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Summary Reporting System. Links to additional details about NIBRS can be found in the additional resources section at the bottom of the Maps & Stats page.

3. Use the filters at the top of the dashboard to filter the dashboard for a specific beat, district, or division.
4. To view data for additional crime types, click the Selected crime type filter at the top of the dashboard and select an option.

   The stats card at the bottom right of the dashboard updates with data for the crime you selected.

Explore recent crime activity

The Community Crime Explorer app can be used to explore recent burglary activity and create a printed report to take to your neighborhood meeting.

To learn about recent burglaries in your area and print a report to take to an upcoming neighborhood meeting, complete the following steps:

1. In a browser, browse to the Police Transparency site and click the Maps & Stats tab.
2. Scroll to the Mapping Apps section.
3. For Community Crime Explorer, click View App.

   The app displays the last 28 days of crime by default and shows a list of all crimes in the community.

4. Click OK to close the splash window.
5. Click Filters.
6. To view all burglaries this year, complete the following steps:
   1. Under When, clear the Reported date is in the last field.
   2. For Reported date is between, select January 1 of this year for the first box and today's date for the second box.
   3. Expand the What filter group, and then for NIBRS Description is any of, check the Burglary/Breaking & Entering check box.

   The map updates to show all burglaries that have occurred year to date.

7. At the top of the app, click Charts, and then click the arrows to scroll through charts that show trends related to your filtered list.
8. Click to return to Filters, and the click the Reset all filters button. This will reset app to the default display of all crimes in the last 28 days.
9. To view crimes near your home, click Near me and then use the point, polyline, or polygon tool to draw a location of interest on the map.

   Note:

   The default search distance is 0.25 Miles, but you can adjust the buffer as necessary.

   A list of crimes that occurred in the selected area appears.

10. In the list, click a crime to expand a list of the crimes sorted by date.
11. Hover over a date to highlight the location on the map or click a date to see more detailed information about the selected crime.
12. To download a report, click the Export button and choose Export to CSV.

    The CSV file downloads to your computer.

13. If you would like to discuss these burglaries with your neighbors and community policing officer at an upcoming community meeting, create a hard-copy report, complete the following steps:
    1. Click Export > Export to PDF > Export.
    2. Choose a Template from the drop-down menu.
    3. Type a title into the text box.
    4. Click Export.

Explore recent calls for service

The Community Calls for Service Explorer app can be used to explore calls for service in your community and create a printed report to take to a neighborhood meeting.

To learn about recent welfare checks in your area and print a report to take to the upcoming neighborhood meeting, complete the following steps:

1. In a browser, browse to the Police Transparency site and click the Maps & Stats tab.
2. Scroll to the Mapping Apps section.
3. For Community Calls for Service Explorer, click View App.

   The app displays the last 28 days of calls by default and shows a list of all calls for service in the community.

4. Click OK to close the splash window.
5. To view all calls about welfare checks this year, click the Filter. Under the When filter group, in the Call date is in the last filter, delete the number 28. Next, in the Call date is between filter, select January 1 of this year for the first box and today's date for the second box.
6. Under the What filter group, in the Call Type is any of filter drop-down menu, search for and select Welfare Check, then click the toggle button to activate the filter.

   You can now view calls for welfare checks that have occurred year-to-date.

7. Click the Charts to view trends in when service calls occurred, their priority levels, source of the calls, top 10 call types, and top 10 addresses.
8. To view calls that occurred near your home, click the Near Me button. Use the point, polyline, or polygon tool to place a location of interest on the map. The default search distance is 0.25 Miles, but this can be adjusted accordingly.
9. Review the types and frequency of calls that occurred in your area. Expand Calls For Service and a call type, to click on each call type category to review more detailed information about a specific call.
10. If you would like to discuss these calls with your neighbors and community policing officer at an upcoming community meeting, download a report as a CSV file, complete the following steps.
    1. Click Export > Export to CSV.
    2. Browse to a folder location or accept the default location.
    3. Provide a name for the file or accept the default name.

    To create a hard-copy report, do the following:

    1. Click Export > Export to PDF > Export. Then choose a Template and type in a title in the text box.
    2. Choose a Template from the drop-down menu.
    3. Type a title into the text box.
    4. Click Export.

Learn about use of force

Now you will assume the role of a community leader. You have recently been appointed to a police oversight board responsible for reviewing use-of-force incidents in the community. To perform this role, you need to first gain a basic understanding of how and why force is used by law enforcement and the implications of its use, and then you must dig deeper to understand patterns in the use of force by the subjects of force and officers involved.

Gain a basic understanding of use of force

To learn more about use of force in your community, complete the following steps:

1. In a browser, browse to the Police Transparency site and click the Use of Force tab.
2. Scroll to the Understanding Use of Force section.

   The charts in the How Often Do We Use Force? section of the Use of Force Summary Dashboard show total use of force incidents, use of force incidents involving a serious injury (for example, requiring medical care or hospitalization), fatal use of force incidents, the infrequency of use of force relative to the total scope of police interactions with citizens, and how few are determined to be inconsistent with policy.

   Under the Why Do Officers Use Force? section, you can understand what types of resistance officers are encountering that require use of force and the type of force applied.

Explore characteristics of subjects of force

As a community leader, you want to dig deeper into the characteristics of persons subjected to use of force and compare them through the perspectives of demographics, incident conditions, and location. For example, you may want to know more about the characteristics of persons subjected to use of electric force through conducted electrical devices such as Tasers or stun guns.

To dig deeper into the characteristics of persons subjected to force, complete the following steps:

1. In a browser, browse to the Police Transparency site and click the Use Of Force tab.
2. Scroll to the Gain a Deeper Understanding section.
3. For Use of Force by Subject, click Explore to open the dashboard.

   The dashboard opens. You will use dashboard filters to set criteria and review how the charts change to reflect those criteria.

4. Click Close to close the splash window.
5. On the left, in the filter panel, click the Force type filter and select a type of force.

   The content in the dashboard updates to show filtered results.

   Note:

   You can use additional filters to see how information changes based on things such as policy review results, incident context, and more.

6. On the Demographics tab, review demographic information of the subjects who experienced the selected type of force.
7. Click the Condition tab to view information about the condition of the incident and the subject who experienced force.
8. Click the Map tab to view where these incidents occurred, symbolized by force level.

   Tip:

   Select an incident from the list to get more information about the incident. To view a legend, click the More tools button on the map, then click the Legend button. To reset all filters in the dashboard, click the Reset button in the lower right corner of the app.

Explore characteristics of officers applying force

As a community leader, you also want to explore the characteristics of officers applying force through the perspectives of demographics and location. For example, you may want to know more about the characteristics of officers who apply force resulting in serious injury or death.

To dig deeper into the characteristics of officers who apply force, complete the following steps:

1. In a browser, browse to the Police Transparency site and click the Use Of Force tab.
2. Scroll to the Gain a Deeper Understanding section.
3. For Use of Force by Officer, click Explore.
4. Click Close to close the splash window.
5. On the left, in the filter panel, click the Force level filter and select a force level.

   The content in the dashboard updates to show filtered results.

6. On the Demographics tab, explore the characteristics of officers involved at the force level you have selected.
7. Click the Map tab to review where these incidents occurred, symbolized by force level.
8. Browse the list to learn basic information about the incidents and officers involved.

Explore law enforcement workforce diversity

Finally, you will assume the role of a local media reporter. You are writing a story about the representation of women and communities of color in policing. You want to learn more about the composition of the workforce of the local law enforcement agency.

To explore law enforcement workforce diversity, complete the following steps:

1. In a browser, browse to the Police Transparency site and click the Personnel tab.
2. Scroll to the Police Personnel Dashboard app.

   On the left, the dashboard lists the number of employees and the percentage of employees by rank. The dashboard also includes three tabs. The first dashboard tab, Demographics, displays employee demographics. The Age and Years of Service tab includes charts that allow you to visualize the age and years of service by the workforce. The Type and Status tab allows you to visualize personnel by their employment type (sworn or civilian), whether they are full or part-time, and whether they are a resident of the jurisdiction.

3. On the Demographics tab, in the Gender pie chart, click the slice that represents females.

   The information across all three tabs of the dashboard will adjust to your selection. You can see that females account for a percentage of all staff, however, when you look at the Rank pie chart, which is filtered by your selection in the Gender pie chart, you can see that of female employees, a number are civilians (for example, not police officers), and that of the female employees, less are a supervisory rank. (Sergeant, Lieutenant, Commander).

   Note:

   Clicking a pie slice filters the charts for only that selection. If you click an item name in a legend, it removes the item from the results.