Visualizing Police Open-Data: A Case Study of Two Cities Where Force, Race, and Place Collided

Keywords: ESDA, geovisualization, open data, police misconduct, U.S. cities
Session Type: Virtual Paper
Day: Wednesday
Session Start / End Time: 4/7/2021 11:10 AM (Pacific Time (US & Canada)) - 4/7/2021 12:25 PM (Pacific Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 32

Abstract

This paper is a case study that called into question police conduct and policy injustice discovered in two American big cities. My path to learn about Indianapolis (IN) and Baltimore (MD) policing patterns and crime events was due to availability of detailed open data that focused on use-of-force. My specific goal was to conduct geospatial analytics aimed at two cities using location and other key variables. Two spreadsheets with a modest sampling of data permitted me statistical groundwork for iterations of a powerful method known as exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA). Bivariate scatterplots revealed possible police misconduct. Parallel coordinate plotting – an innovative multivariate tool – was then used to display plotted use-of-force and racial variables associated with key police districts in Indianapolis and Baltimore. Even “small data” can surprise if they are supported with detailed visualizations that cartographically and dramatically compare force and race variables by way of co-occurring plots, graphs, and maps. Action items that I suggested by way of a conclusion were 1) a “social-justice” framework for future data-visualization, 2) significant heightening of standards for law enforcement reform, and 3) a compelling need to make a hypothetical “citizen’s arrest” of any future police misconduct.