With no data collection, Louisiana remains in the dark on police accountability

Former FBI Director James Comey once said: “We cannot have an informed discussion because we do not have data. People have data about who went to a movie last weekend or how many books were sold or how many cases of the flu walked into an emergency room, and I cannot tell you how many people were shot by the police in the United States, last month, last year, or anything about the demographics, and that is a very bad place to be.”

Unfortunately, Louisiana appears to be in that same bad place.

We use data to avoid traffic jams by relying on navigation apps that aggregate data from millions of motorists. Parents select schools based on data regarding test scores, graduation rates and college admission rates. Our government uses data to keep the public informed about everything from economic trends to the projected paths of hurricanes. Yet when it comes to data that could help promote transparency, accountability and efficiency among Louisiana’s more than 300 law enforcement agencies, we are left in the dark regarding police activities in this state.

Currently in Louisiana, law enforcement agencies are not required to report basic data like the number of people they stop or arrest, or other significant data like uses of force, citizen complaints or officer discipline.[i] Without collecting data on these activities, law enforcement agencies are operating without a key resource that could improve their performance – and potentially allow them to refute criticisms that misconduct runs rampant throughout a particular department or agency.

With comprehensive data collection, Louisiana law enforcement agencies could reduce crime and save taxpayer dollars, as data would assist these agencies in identifying trends, allocating resources, and assessing the effectiveness of training and operational planning. All in all, better data simply leads to better policing and safer communities.

Because this data is not collected, Louisiana citizens are forced to rely on the media to provide insight into police activity. Whereas, if the empirical data were collected and reported, the agencies could be ensured that the public was receiving accurate information that comes directly from the source. This would be likely to reduce the general tension and mistrust that some communities have of law enforcement. Further, it would allow information to be shared not only with the public, but with other law enforcement agencies as well, which could help implement best practices statewide.

It is understood that in most situations, there is not a culture of misconduct across an entire agency, and there are likely a few bad apples that are responsible for the potentially unfavorable public perception of any agency or department. For example, in 2016, the Office of the Independent Police Monitor in New Orleans discovered that out of approximately 1,200 officers, 90 were responsible for more than half of the department’s use of force encounters.[ii]

In other words, 7.3% of the New Orleans Police Department’s officers were responsible for more than 50% of use of force encounters. Does that mean NOPD has an agency-wide issue with use of force? No, it means that NOPD may have some personnel issues with a small number of officers who may need to be retrained, transferred to other departments or perhaps terminated. However, those determinations cannot be made if the necessary data is not being collected.

Law enforcement agencies should be required to collect data on the following:

• Traffic stops, including outcomes such as citations, searches and arrests
• Pedestrian and bicycle stops with those same outcomes
• Uses of force
• Complaints against police officers
• Deployments of SWAT teams
• Applications for and execution of “no-knock” search warrants
• Uses of equipment by the U.S. Department of Defense
• Response times to emergency calls

Once the data is computed, the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement should publish annual reports on the data and make the raw data available for download on its website.

Having this information readily available to the public should lead to the reduction in the tension between the community and the police and provide a measurement for better policing, reduction of cost to taxpayers and, ultimately, safer communities. There is no need for Louisiana to remain in the dark regarding the interactions between law enforcement and the citizens they are sworn to protect and serve.

Terry Landry is policy counsel for the SPLC Action Fund.

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