Open Data Makes Public Safety Better
A recent blog post on Harvard Business Review describes how Yelp (and LIVES) creates a level of transparency that raises accountability by giving consumers the power to make better decisions with health inspection data.
Yelp found that once businesses became aware that consumers had access to data, they responded better to low ratings - 'In one large city, we showed in a randomized, controlled trial that restaurants whose low hygiene ratings are posted on Yelp tend to respond by cleaning up and performing better on their next inspections.’
Likewise, we believe a similar positive effect can come from opening up crime data. Just as residents want to know hygiene information about the restaurant they’re dining, residents want to know about crime in their neighborhood.
In our view it is fair to assume there is no way for a police agency to run better when they hide, seek to control, or reduce transparency with crime data.
Currently, our evidence is anecdotal that police departments perform better when they are more transparent, specifically sharing crime data openly with the public. However, making crime data open and accessible can give residents the power to make better and more informed decisions about how to protect themselves and prevent against crime - just as restaurants became cleaner and safer after Yelp made data more accessible to consumers.
When you have to report your numbers regularly, timely, and openly the organization will run better because it now is accountable to the data released. Like a sports team, frequent reviews of successes and failures improves the performance of any team or organization. Open crime data can help police agencies operate more effectively by creating a level of transparency that allows data to be actively managed, easily measured, and available to be inspected but the public.
A study published in the Oxford Journal of Cybersecurity found that ‘by demonstrating their trustworthiness to the public, the police can strengthen their social connection with citizens and thus encourage more active civic engagement in domains of security and policing’.
Open crime data not only raises accountability on police agencies, but increases the communication between agencies and residents which will lower the number preventable crimes that occur.
If the best way to achieve cleaner restaurants is through transparency, then the best way to achieve better policing, better relationships, and better trust between agencies and communities is by allowing open access to crime data.
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