Cambridge Police Department Joins Two White House-Led Data Initiatives

The Cambridge Police Department today announced that it is joining the White House-led Police Data and Data Driven Justice Initiatives. The Department is one of seven Massachusetts jurisdictions (along with Boston, Great Barrington, Lowell, Northampton, Pittsfield and Taunton) to join both initiatives, which were launched in response to several of President Obama’s Task Force on 21^st Century Policing recommendations.

The Police Data Initiative (PDI) supports efforts of local law enforcement agencies to leverage data to increase transparency and accountability and build trust with their communities. The Data-Driven Justice Initiative (DDJ) supports city, county, and state government efforts to use data-driven strategies to divert low-level offenders with mental illness out of the criminal system and to change approaches to pre-trial incarceration so that low risk offenders no longer stay in jail simply because they cannot afford bond.

“By joining these initiatives, the Cambridge Police Department remains committed to increasing its transparency with data, policies and procedures,” said Commissioner Christopher J. Burke. “In addition, we are committing to advancing the innovative solutions we have with our community partners to better serve people with mental illness who have a high number of encounters with public safety, as well as those individuals who are held in jail before trial because they cannot afford to bond out.” 

The Annual Crime Report, monthly BridgeStat crime report, daily public crime log, automated tweets of key criminal incidents, published reports on the City’s Open Data website, and published policies and procedures are among the many resources the Cambridge Police Department currently provides to its residents. These are examples of the resources that the Department plans to expand through the Police Data Initiative.

The existing work led by the Cambridge Police Department, including its Focused Deterrence Program, Multi-Discipline Outreach and Mental Health Outreach, are among the initiatives that will be enhanced via the Data-Driven Justice Initiative.        

For more information, please visit https://www.justice.gov/opa/blog/growing-number-communities-are-using-data-improve-policing-and-criminal-justice.