We help people use public data for police oversight.
We collect data about legal systems because their power to impact people demands the highest degree of transparency.
If you have a question to answer, we can help. Make a request
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If you have a question to answer, we may already know about helpful data in your area. Learn more about the data here.
Case studies
We find data and share resources to help each other answer questions and strengthen our database over time.
Sharing access to Traffic Stop data
Several researchers in Pittsburgh were asking:
What is the reality of traffic enforcement in Pittsburgh, given changed policies about enforcing minor traffic violations?
We requested data from the City of Pittsburgh and shared it in our database.
It led to this article in Public Source, among other research.
Preserving Calls for Service data in Oakland CA
A journalist in Oakland, CA asked:
How does Oakland dispatch its police force to address community needs?
Calls for police service were published by the city, but only stayed online for 1–2 days.
We made a web scraper to archive the data every day, automatically, for free. We made it open-source, so it can be reused by anyone for future zero-budget research projects.
Consolidating records about the Allegheny County Jail
This facility has faced mounting scrutiny, and we have helped answer several questions:
How many people are in jail because they cannot afford bail?
County jail holding status dashboard
How often are people placed in solitary confinement after it was banned in 2022?
Do people in the jail receive medical attention when they request it?
2021 & 2022 surveys of the incarcerated population
Has the city documented any health code violations at the Allegheny County Jail?