Open/Opaque

A critical exploration of the
Police Data Initiative

A digital humanities project examining the openness of open data on police use of force. Open/Opaque engages with datasets available through the Police Data Initiative, a federal effort to increase transparency in policing.

Using visualization as a method, this project reveals the opacity of police data on use of force and questions the notion that open data can solve the crisis of policing.

Project Findings

Open/Opaque's conclusions about use of force data available through the Police Data Initiative

Low Participation

Open/Opaque visualizes the low participation by police departments in the Police Data Initiative. Read more..

Limited Scope

Open/Opaque finds that datasets available through the Police Data Initiative are limited in scope. Read more..

Inconsistent Data

Open/Opaque finds that the kind of data collected varies widely between datasets. Read more..

Police Data Initiative

President Obama speaks about Taskforce on 21st Century Policing

The Police Data Initiative came out of President Obama's Taskforce on 21st Century Policing, which sought to build trust between communities and the police through increased law enforcement transparency. The Police Data Initiative includes datasets from 120 departments on its website.