About the Data
Summary
Required use-of-force data points were established by advisory group as instructed by legislature and Chapter 10.118 of the Revised Code of Washington (RCW).
Use-of-force data by itself provides limited actionable data.
WADEPS integrates contextual data points to better understand when and how the use of force occurs in relation to other policing activity and the community.
Contextual data includes census and demographics, agency size, type of call, and similar data points for all calls-for-service
Standardizing and Centralizing
In alignment with the state law, the Office of the Attorney General convened the Law Enforcement Data Collection Advisory Group to establish standardized use-of-force data points to be reported by law enforcement agencies to a central repository. The WADEPS data governance committee provided real-world feedback on the data points, identified contextual data to add valuable understanding, and reviewed the data dictionary, its definitions, and data element parameters.
Required Use-of-Force Data
Sections
- Use-of-force Incident information (25 data points)
- Type of force (11 data points)
- Subject information (15 data points)
- Officer information (8 data points)
- Administrative follow-up (6 data points)
- Incident-based dispatch information (5 data points)
Data Details
Examples include:
- Use-of force incident details:
- Date, time, & location
- Contact initiation, incident type, and number of officers (for example: an officer-initiated traffic stop or a public 9-1-1 call for a robbery)
- Number of officers involved and number of subjects
- Elapsed time to the use of force and arrest outcome
- Type of force details:
- Pointed or discharged a firearm
- Use of electronic control weapon or chemical irritant spray
- Use of impact weapon or physical strike
- Use of a vehicle to strike a person
- Deploy canine
- Subject demographic details, if known:
- Gender and age
- Ethnicity, race, and/or tribal status
- Impairment or whether armed
- Injury or resistance
- Officer demographic details:
- Gender, age, ethnicity
- Assignment and years of service
- Injury
- Administrative review details:
- Incident review entity and status
- Internal action outcome
- Incident-based dispatch details:
- Date, time, agency, call type, and CAD ID for all calls for service.
Integrating and Automating CAD data
Many of the required use-of-force data points are included in this computer-aided dispatch (CAD) data. Rather than requiring duplicate data entry, WADEPS is collaborating with PSAP vendors and agencies to automate the regular sharing of limited incident-based CAD data.
In addition to reducing work for agency officers and administrators for use-of-force incidents, the automated sharing of all incident-related CAD data provides rich contextual data for deeper and more complete analysis.
WADEPS is actively working to help emergency software vendors operating in Washington state to integrate automated data-sharing protocols for the agencies they support.
When is WADEPS data updated?
List of all officers with law enforcement authority and their WADEPS training status.
Required use-of-force incident data is submitted to WADEPS within 30 days.
Incident-related CAD data for all calls for service.
All contextual data available (census, agency policies, etc.)
Data Governance
In the modern digital landscape, maintaining perspective and agility is critical. The WADEPS Data Governance Advisory Committee includes regional and national experts in data analytics, criminal justice operations and research, public policy, and law. Their charge is to advocate for the data—its accuracy, integrity, efficiency, expandability, completeness, usability, accessibility, accountability, and security.
Learn more about WADEPS data governance.