This document discusses the lack of comprehensive national data on police use of force in the United States. It notes that while some data is collected through various programs and surveys, there is no single source of truth. This impedes the ability to analyze trends, inform policy, and understand how use of force affects different communities. The document also outlines various health impacts of police violence and lack of trust in law enforcement. It concludes by providing recommendations for obtaining open police data at the local level.

1. COMMUNITY ACCESS TO DATA ON
POLICE USE OF FORCE

2. “There’s so many little black and brown kids
dying by the police hand… There’s so much
that I want to do about it, but I don’t even know
what would actually help.”
(CA TOBACCO STUDY INTERVIEW)
1919, CHICAGO 1964, HARLEM 2009, OAKLAND

3. “We want facts. We need history. We need
paperwork… It’s like now, we’re taking Oscar
Grant’s name in vain. All the people that died
before Mike Brown…”
(CA TOBACCO STUDY INTERVIEW)
This National Police
Use of Force
Database was
mandated in 1995,
but never produced
comprehensive

6. No capacity to link incidents
to
(de-identified) individual
officers – needed to inform
early warning systems to
prevent deaths.
Arrest-Related Deaths Program (BJS, suspended)
National Police Misconduct Reporting Project
(CATO INSTITUTE)
National Police Violence Map (SINGYANWE, ELZIE,
McKESSON)
The Counted project (THE GUARDIAN)
No comprehensive national data on
deaths.

7. Also no capacity to link
incidents to (de-identified)
individual officers in order to
inform early warning systems
that can prevent deaths.
Police-Public Contact Survey
(BJS)
WISQARS (CDC INJURY CENTER)
* Police Open Data Census (CODE
FOR AMERICA)
No comprehensive national data on
injuries.

8. ICD-9
E970 INJURY DUE TO
LEGAL INTERVENTION BY
FIREARMS
ICD-10
Y35.001A-LEGAL INTERVENTION INVOLVING UNSPECIFIED FIREARM
DISCHARGE, LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL INJURED, INITIAL
ENCOUNTER
Y35.001D-LEGAL INTERVENTION INVOLVING UNSPECIFIED FIREARM
DISCHARGE, LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL INJURED, SUBSEQUENT
ENCOUNTER
Y35.001S-LEGAL INTERVENTION INVOLVING UNSPECIFIED FIREARM
DISCHARGE, LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL INJURED, SEQUELA
Y35.002A-LEGAL INTERVENTION INVOLVING UNSPECIFIED FIREARM
DISCHARGE, BYSTANDER INJURED, INITIAL ENCOUNTER
Y35.002D-LEGAL INTERVENTION INVOLVING UNSPECIFIED FIREARM
DISCHARGE, BYSTANDER INJURED, SUBSEQUENT ENCOUNTER
Y35.002S-LEGAL INTERVENTION INVOLVING UNSPECIFIED FIREARM
DISCHARGE, BYSTANDER INJURED, SEQUELA
Y35.003A-LEGAL INTERVENTION INVOLVING UNSPECIFIED FIREARM
DISCHARGE, SUSPECT INJURED, INITIAL ENCOUNTER
Y35.003D-LEGAL INTERVENTION INVOLVING UNSPECIFIED FIREARM
DISCHARGE, SUSPECT INJURED, SUBSEQUENT ENCOUNTER
Y35.003S-LEGAL INTERVENTION INVOLVING UNSPECIFIED FIREARM
CDC requires hospitals
to come into compliance
with ICD-10 as of
10/1/2015

9. Although national data are limited, available
evidence suggests that some people are more
affected by violence in policing than others.
Black/African American
American Indian/Native
American
LGBTQ+
Living in high risk
neighborhoods
Mentally
ill
Homeless
Sex
workers
People who
are…
* Standard use of force reporting doesn’t capture some of these
factors, ex. perceived LGBTQ identity – but maybe it should…

10. PHYSICAL BATTERY
& DEATH
“[Police] told me I looked like a
robbery suspect. Beat my ass and
told me to get out of West Oakland…
for nothing”
(CA TOBACCO STUDY INTERVIEW)
Research suggests that members of
these groups are especially
vulnerable to…

11. SEXUAL ASSAULT
Some research suggests that the
prevalence of sexual assaults by
police is high among Trans women.
Very few data collection
instruments ask respondents
about sexual assault in
encounters with police at all.

12. LOSS OF TRUST
“We don’t really trust cops out here..
I’m more scared of them than of
anything else.”
(CA TOBACCO STUDY INTERVIEW)
People who are afraid of the police
may not contact the police
- in an emergency
- to report criminal activity
- to offer witness accounts or evidence

13. Occupational stress
Post-traumatic stress
disorder
Problematic alcohol use
Are there health implications to
being partnered with an officer
who has a pattern of escalating
encounters?
Health impacts for police officers…

14. Violence in policing is a public
health issue.
- Request blank forms first to find out
what data is available
- Omit open text fields to minimize
redaction delays
- Request machine parseable data
- Look into systems like Recordtrac
codeforamerica.org/products/recordtrac/
for your community.
The Police Open Data Census
codeforamerica.github.io/PoliceOpenDat
aCensus/
Useful data local police agencies may
collect: UOF reports, civilian complaints &
settlement payments, stop data, incident

15. Critical Public Health Research
Collaborative
criticalpublichealth.org
facebook.com/cphrg,
twitter.com/cphrg
Reference collection
criticalpublichealth.org/police-use-of-force-and-