By Matthew Adkins, Times-Herald, Vallejo, Calif.
In an effort to promote transparency and accountability within the agency, Vallejo Police Department has released a wealth of figures and facts showing its involvement with the community.
The move is part of the department’s participation in the White House Police Data Initiative, which is intended to use data and technology to strengthen trust and impact, according to a police news release.
“The Vallejo Police Department is proud of the strong connection we have to our community as a result of positive, collaborative relationships built on trust,” the police news release read. “We are pleased to post our first data set, which highlights the 2015 community engagement efforts of our Community Services and Code Enforcement Division, our Office of Community Engagement, and the department’s senior leadership.”
The documents are released freely to the public through the Vallejo Police Open Data Portal at www.vallejopd.com.
After clicking the White House Police Data Initiative button on the website, viewers may find downloadable documents that include the police departments entire call log for 2015, as well as a detailed list of police community engagement events for the year.
For each of the hundreds of entries in the community engagement log, information on the organization, date, location, purpose and staff members present is also recorded.
“Building trust and legitimacy is pillar number one of the task force’s final report,” the news release read. “One of the cornerstones of building trust and legitimacy is transparency.”
For more information on the Police Data Initiative, visit the Police Foundation’s Public Safety Open Data Portal at http://publicsafetydataportal.org.
©2016 Times-Herald (Vallejo, Calif.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
