Columbia police talk transparency, data initiative at ‘Media Day’

Columbia Police Department officials met with news outlets Tuesday to discuss how police and the media can better work together, and give an update on some of the department’s initiatives.

The department’s inaugural Media Day included representatives from Columbia TV stations and The State newspaper. The main topic of discussion was how the agency is implementing recommendations from the Justice Department’s 21st Century Policing initiative, for which Columbia was one of 15 agencies selected nationwide to participate.

Chief Skip Holbrook said he wants to continue building relationships with the news media in order to build transparency and accountability between his department and Columbia residents. That includes continuing the Citizens Police Academy, a 10-week course that offers residents an inside look at the agency’s workings, and the Citizen Advisory Council.

The department has rolled out Phase One of its public data initiative, which allows the public to access web-based details about Columbia police operations and calls. The data currently online include information on arrests, assaults on officers and case clearance rates. That information is updated every 30 days, according to Capt. George Drafts, who said the goal is to make the information available in real time.

The next phase of the public data initiative will include information about individual calls and officer-involved collisions, and should be rolled out sometime in the spring, Drafts said.

“There’s no hiding it; it’s right there,” Holbrook said. “There’s not an effort on our part to not share this information.”

This story was originally published January 31, 2017 at 5:22 PM with the headline "Columbia police talk transparency, data initiative at ‘Media Day’."