The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is requesting public input on how to improve the collection, use, and transparency of criminal justice data at the state, local, Tribal, and territorial level (SLTT).
According to a request for information (RFI) posted on Feb. 16, the White House is looking to enhance trust between localized law enforcement and communities by “transparency through data collection and public reporting.”
In 2022, President Biden signed an executive order (EO) on Advancing Effective, Accountable Policing and Criminal Justice Practices to Enhance Public Trust and Public Safety. The EO aims to enhance public trust and public safety by promoting accountability, transparency, equality, and dignity in policing and the criminal justice system.
To help reach this goal, the EO directed the Equitable Data Working Group to work with the National Science and Technology Council to create an Interagency Working Group on Criminal Justice Statistics and tasked this group to develop a report about how to collect and publish data on police practices.
The EO calls for issuing a report to the president on the current data collection, use, and data transparency practices with respect to law enforcement activities. This includes data related to calls for service, searches, stops, frisks, seizures, arrests, complaints, law enforcement demographics, and civil asset forfeiture.
“Improving the collection, use, and transparency of criminal justice data enables a more rigorous assessment of the extent to which law enforcement agency procedures and policies yield fair, just, and impartial treatment of all individuals, including those in underserved communities,” the RFI states.
OSTP is seeking comments from the public by March 30 on the following:
- Information to understand the current data collection, use, and transparency practices across SLTT law enforcement;
- Best practices and lessons learned from SLTT law enforcement agencies related to how they have leveraged data to inform changes to policies to produce more equitable outcomes; and
- Recommendations on how to build the capacity of SLTT law enforcement agencies to collect, use, and make transparent data on law enforcement activities.
