The Center for Policing Equity supports an announcement from the Cambridge Police Department in the State of Massachusetts to launch a new publicly accessible arrest, summons, citation, and use of force database in a city-hosted Procedural Justice Dashboard. According to the announcement, “[T]he Cambridge Police have partnered with the Center for Policing Equity (CPE), a nationally recognized non-profit organization that gathers and analyzes data on behaviors within public safety systems and uses that data to help communities achieve safer policing outcomes. Through its smart data collection and analysis, CPE will help facilitate a community-centered process to identify potential drivers and risks for policing inequities and look to reimagine the delivery of the City of Cambridge’s public safety services. They will help the department identify or address any potential vulnerabilities or disparities from the data featured in the dashboard and develop harm reduction strategies.”
Dr. Yolanda Smith was quoted in the Cambridge PD announcement:
“Centering community is an important step in bringing the community and police together in partnership,” said Dr. Yolanda N. Smith, Senior Implementation Strategist for the Center for Policing Equity. “It is through this collaboration that agencies can best protect and serve those they are responsible for keeping safe. Since working with Commissioner Elow, the City of Cambridge, and the Cambridge Police Department, Commissioner Elow has demonstrated her commitment to equity and improving policing outcomes for the Cambridge community by leading the charge of 21st Century Policing through transparency and accountability.”
Read the full release at cambridgema.gov.