A new measure of public safety

Measures for Justice’s new data portal for the Rochester Police Department is a step toward transparency and accountability.

The data transparency nonprofit intends its Commons tool, launched Tuesday, to be a user-friendly, free dashboard that tracks a wide range of policing measures. MFJ says the accurate and frequently updated criminal justice data can track police performance metrics, monitor progress on community-driven policy goals, and hold the department accountable in new and meaningful ways.

“Transparency goes beyond sharing data, it’s about making that data meaningful and accessible,” says Julio Jordan, director of diversity, equity, justice, and inclusion with the Ibero-American Action League Inc. and member of the Community Advisory Board. (CAB collaborated with MFJ and the RPD to determine metrics and policy goals for the Commons.)

“Data that have been worked through and understood acts as a common ground. It gives everyone this common language to come through and say, ‘This is my experience in the community or as an attorney, or as a law enforcement agent,’ but the data don’t pan out that way or the data show exactly what my experience might be,” says Sema Teheri, vice president of research at Measures for Justice. “It gives us a starting point for that conversation to say, well, why is it that way?”

“By partnering with the community and Measures for Justice, we can work together to create positive change and ensure a stronger, more thriving Rochester. We believe the Commons platform will not only foster accountability but also strengthen our community’s ability to collaborate to improve trust and fairness for all,” says RPD chief David Smith.

Commons, created in partnership with the RPD and CAB, is the second portal MFJ has developed in the local area. In 2022, the organization also collaborated with the Monroe County district attorney’s office on a Commons portal.

RPD is one of only two police departments to be part of the national network of agencies using Commons. This effort is linked to greater efforts by the department to improve its data transparency and public engagement.

“Rochester is not alone. Departments all over the country struggle to get all their data into one place. Sometimes they don’t have the resources to make that happen, sometimes they don’t want to make it happen; it’s agency by agency,” Taheri says. “Most agencies have a lot of information that they might be using in their crime analysis centers to make good decisions, but maybe don’t have the added step of having that in an accessible portal.”

Measures tracked by the new RPD Commons portal include crime incident reports, which are also available on the RPD’s data portal. Similar to the Beacon’s reporting, it can be filtered by data, crime category, and geographic location.

Use-of-force incidents will also be posted on the Commons. This measure has been a focus point for the Rochester Police Accountability Board, which released a report on RPD juvenile use of force incidents last year.

In the report, the PAB noted the difficulty in receiving complete data from the RPD, which turned down the request for information related to juvenile use of force since Jan. 1, 2018, stating that it was “impractical and time-consuming.” The new Commons has use-of-force incidents as far back as Feb. 2019.

Additional data available through the Commons will include officer wellness and training, resource allocation, overtime pay, community engagement, vehicle stops, and response times for calls for service.

RPD response time has become a frequent concern in the community in recent years. Law enforcement often cites low staffing numbers as the cause, with a drone pilot program that began this month to help with incident response.

MFJ hopes that its data can make this picture clearer by showing situations from the police and the citizen’s perspective. For example, while the median time between the call for service (from a civilian) and officer arrival on scene was 25 minutes in December 2024, the median time from when the call was dispatched (from emergency services) and officer arrival was 5.9 minutes.

A policy goal, informed by CAB, for the RPD Commons will focus on “reducing the median response time to 4 minutes for civilian-generated Immediate Dispatch (Tier 1) calls from call to arrival by March 2026.”

“Co-creating the policy goals generally involves the CAB looking at Commons data before the platform launches,” says Rosaland Harrison, director of civic impact and collaboration at MFJ. “We encourage them to scrutinize the data, looking for trends and patterns that are concerning or just of interest.

“The process is not always straightforward and consensus isn’t easy, but in the end, the CAB and agency do come to a consensus on a goal that reflects a mutual commitment to change,” she adds.

The MCDA Commons also contains a policy goal, which is to “increase diversions to 10 percent by December 2024.” 

“Allowing non-violent, low-level defendants to earn their way to a more favorable outcome is called ‘diversion.’ By enhancing accountability, while directing participation in treatment, counseling, and other proven strategies, we believe we can further reduce crime in our county,” District Attorney Sandra Doorley said when the policy goal was announced. “Using these data, we intend to increase diversions to 10 percent, while focusing trial resources on the more serious cases, all in service of keeping our families safer.”

The latest MFJ data for diversions shows that 0.4 percent of all cases were diverted in July 2024. In fact, since April 2022, the monthly value has not risen higher than 1.9 percent, which is significantly lower than the target goal.

While the Beacon is awaiting further clarification on the topic from MCDA, Harrison states that policy goals are intended to be regularly reassessed by both agencies and the community. The effect of the MCDA and RPD policy goals on their respective agencies will still need to be determined.

“Because the policy goals are co-created with members of the community and then made publicly available, a level of accountability is created for the agencies. Agency leaders understand that community members can track their progress, or lack of it, by simply visiting Commons,” Harrison says.

“In Rochester, fostering trust and open communication is key,” Jordan says. “When community members and government agencies work together with a shared commitment to openness, we create an environment where policies and practices are accountable and where all members of our community can thrive with a sense of safety and equity.”

Jacob Schermerhorn is a Rochester Beacon contributing writer and data journalist.

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