Announced Friday, 53 police departments around the country have signed on so far to the White House-pressed Police Data Initiative, a plan by President Obama to make crime-fighting more technology-driven and accountable to higher-ups, but that is seen by critics as a not-so-subtle federal takeover of community policing. The program, which comes by way of a recommendation from the Task Force on 21st Century Policing that Obama launched in December – which was created by the White House in response to widely reported instances of police-community clashes and alleged cop discrimination against minorities – is aimed at enhancing “data transparency and analysis” among police departments around the nation.
In White House jargon, according to a May 2015 “Launching the Police Data Initiative” press release: “Through the initiative, key stakeholders are establishing a community of practice that will allow for knowledge sharing, community-sourced problem solving and the establishment of documented best practices that can serve as examples for police departments nationwide.” FULL REPORT
