The growing importance of criminal justice data in the context of government transparency was highlighted last month when the White House released its Open Government National Action Plan (NAP) to the public. This third iteration of the NAP was the first to include a section on "Justice and Law Enforcement" since the inaugural release in 2011.
The section specifies two areas of focus in which the government has already been involved: access to justice and open police data. The latter, a response to the recommendations that came out of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, is spearheaded by the White House Police Data Initiative — a cooperative effort between police departments and key stakeholders, including the Sunlight Foundation, to improve community relations through better use of data and technology. Continue…
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