Baltimore City Wire

Baltimore's First-of-Its-Kind Public Safety Data Tool Provides Greater Levels of Transparency Around Public Safety Outcomes Across the City

Mayor Brandon M. Scott announced the release of Baltimore's first-ever Public Safety Accountability Dashboard (PSAD) alongside Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE) Executive Director Shantay Jackson and members of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. The Dashboard is a data tool designed to provide greater levels of transparency and allow the public to hold agencies accountable for executing agreed upon strategies and identifying best practices for measuring effectiveness of the administration's public safety efforts.

"Evaluation and accountability are central pillars of Baltimore's Comprehensive Violence Prevention Plan, because when it comes to public safety, progress can and should be measured. The Public Safety Accountability Dashboard provides a real-time look at the numbers that inform our data-driven efforts in ways that directly address Baltimore's latest public safety trends," said Mayor Brandon M. Scott. "This innovative tool is core to upholding my commitment to transparency and accessibility in ways that also bring City government into the 21st century. I look forward to the further partnership cultivated by the dashboard with Baltimoreans across the city to increase public safety for all."

As Mayor Scott's agency charged with the co-production of public safety and the implementation of the Comprehensive Violence Prevention Plan, the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement has worked closely with members of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, Baltimore's Chief Data Officer, the Mayor's Office of Performance of Innovation, and other agencies to design and develop the dashboard's first iteration from the ground up, aggregating public safety metrics, data, and experiences into a single portal that is publicly accessible to Baltimoreans for the first time. To ensure peak accessibility and usability for the public, MONSE also hosted four virtual focus groups to review and offer feedback on the dashboard before it was made accessible to the public.

"We know that the most effective policies and tools are co-informed by those responsible for their creation and execution and by Baltimoreans' lived experiences, which is why it was so important for us to hear from our community members before releasing the dashboard publicly," said Executive Director Shantay Jackson. "The biggest takeaway is that this is Baltimore's Dashboard. For the first time ever, folks who live, work, and play in Baltimore have a clear view into what's happening in our city, can follow along with our work to affect change for the better, and partner with us as we carry out the Mayor's Comprehensive Violence Prevention Plan."

In its initial iteration, the Public Safety Accountability Dashboard reflects data from respective Baltimore City and State of Maryland agencies on neighborhood and demographics of victims of violence; public safety related activity by neighborhood and police district including arrests; Baltimore's Community Violence Intervention (CVI) ecosystem including all ten Safe Streets sites as well as Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program data; Neighborhood Policing Plan pilot program data; and prosecution data from the Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office.

"Information is empowering, which is why I'm excited to see the launch of this Public Safety Accountability Dashboard," said State's Attorney Ivan J. Bates. "This level of transparency allows us as public servants to establish measurable goals and be held accountable for our work. I look forward to continued partnership with MONSE, BPD, and the Mayor's Office as we collaborate to make Baltimore safer for everyone."

"This dashboard is another tool that exemplifies BPD's commitment to transparency, collaboration and accountability in building trust and creating a well-informed public. The ability to combine data with our public safety partners represents something new among other law enforcement agencies and cities," said Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael S. Harrison. "This tool reaffirms our partnership with the communities we serve and creates a safer Baltimore through data-driven strategies."

Future iterations of the Public Safety Accountability Dashboard will aggregate additional public safety data points including: warrant information from the Office of the Sheriff, gun seizures, and intimate partner violence data, while also allowing residents to look at data specific to City Council and State Legislative Districts.

Members of the public can access the Dashboard on Open Baltimore or directly on MONSE's website.

Original source can be found here.