Want to tell the Denver Sheriff Department to share its use of force data?
Want to know how many inmates are living in the jails and what it costs to house them?
Want to know how often deputies are attacked by inmates?
The Denver Sheriff Department wants the public to give input on what kind of data should be shared with Denver residents. So, the department has posted a 10-question survey on the website Survey Monkey where people can give their opinions.
“The bottom line is we do want to share information with the public because we do believe transparency is important,” said Simon Crittle, a department spokesman.
Improved data collection and sharing was part of , which offered 277 recommendations for change at the department. Creating a public survey was one of those recommendations.
In the past, the sheriff’s department’s data collection was atrocious, making it nearly impossible for the department to evaluate its practices.
For example, The Denver Post in 2014 tried to obtain three years worth of records on Taser usage at the city’s two jails. However, the department could not find any records for 2012 or 2013, and the 2014 reports were incomplete.
Since then, the department has made steps toward improvement by creating a data analysis unit.
Crittle said he is unsure how the department will share information once it receives the public feedback, but it most likely will be online.
