Opinion
JENNIFER CALFAS
EDITOR IN CHIEF
AARICA MARSH
and DEREK WOLFE
EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS
LEV FACHER
MANAGING EDITOR
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
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The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4A — Friday, September 11, 2015
Policing with data
Claire Bryan, Regan Detwiler, Ben Keller,
Payton Luokkala, Aarica Marsh, Adam Morton,
Victoria Noble, Michael Paul, Anna Polumbo-
Levy, Allison Raeck, Melissa Scholke, Michael
Schramm, Stephanie Trierweiler, Mary Kate
Winn, Jenny Wang, Derek Wolfe
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
T
his isn’t a column talking
about how to solve gun vio-
lence.
Nobody
else
seems
to
care
about
talking
about fixing gun
violence, so nei-
ther
will
this
column.
Elected
senators
and
presidential can-
didates
didn’t
have
much
to
say about it after
Charleston.
The
media even tired of covering gun
control after a vote for slightly
more stringent gun control meth-
ods failed in April 2013. And as
support for any sort of gun-control
measures similarly mirrors media
coverage trends, it has been noth-
ing but inaction on any front to
help curb a problem that’s uniquely
American in scale.
This isn’t a column talking about
the at least 885 mass shootings, inci-
dents in which four or more people
were shot, that have occurred since
Sandy Hook in December 2012.
Sometime in between writing, edit-
ing and publishing this column, that
number will grow, as will the num-
ber of days that the government sits
idle as if everything is fine. Far too
often, a lead story on the news is
how someone else was shot, includ-
ing recently in Virginia where the
shooting was on the news itself.
This isn’t a column about the vic-
tims of such violence, because the
victims do not have a voice.
Untold thousands pass away too
soon, and thousands more will fol-
low them each year with no attempt
to change policy that could poten-
tially save even a fraction of gun
violence victims. Even the living
victims have their voice shut out.
Even after former Congresswomen
Gabrielle Giffords survived a mass
shooting at a congressional event
and campaigned for better gun
policies in our nation, she could not
overcome the roadblocks. When she
has to urge voters to vote out the
current leadership in office because
that’s the only way to possibly make
a change, the culture is broken.
This isn’t a column about the
shooters, their motives or their per-
sonalities.
Perhaps they do it for the fame,
fame they should never be given.
Undoubtedly mental health treat-
ment is a huge issue in this coun-
try, another problem which needs
solutions, especially when a large
percentage of deaths from firearms
are suicides. But placing too much
blame on these problems continu-
ally sidesteps the issue that we keep
witnessing shootings over and over,
and shifts blame to the individual
instead of recognizing that we have
a serious problem with firearms
that can’t be avoided.
This isn’t a column about num-
bers and data, which are perhaps the
most sensible way of devising solu-
tions to issues, because numbers and
data don’t exist by accident.
Legislation prevented the Cen-
ters for Disease Control from con-
ducting research on gun violence
and gun control policy, leaving last-
ing effects that have crippled any
effort to make data-driven deci-
sions. There are plenty of statistics
that agree that Americans own a lot
of guns and shoot a lot of people, a
lot more than any of our interna-
tional peers. But when it comes to
statistics on the impact of policy
and procedures working towards
curbing the astronomical numbers
of incidents, there aren’t any.
This isn’t a column about poli-
tics, because this issue is already so
political.
The National Rifle Association
is infamous for its involvement —
about $25 million of it in one elec-
tion cycle — in the cutting of gun
violence research funding from the
CDC and its adages of “guns don’t
kill people, people kill people.”
Despite overwhelming support for
background checks for those pur-
chasing weapons, legislation for
them has been unable to pass, and
it’s no doubt that fear of retribu-
tion from candidates that receive
donations from the NRA has some
effect. Perhaps that money could
go to places other than political
campaigns, and go toward funding
actual solutions like better mental
health or gun safety clinics.
And no, this column isn’t about
taking away guns, gun control, gun
registration or anything of the sort.
Ownership of guns is, and always
will be, protected by the Constitu-
tion. But our country wasn’t found-
ed on just the Bill of Rights and the
rights to liberty and the pursuit
of happiness. It was also founded
on the inherent and inalienable
right that is the preservation of
life. There has to be a better way to
uphold all of these.
This column is about noth-
ing, because nothing accurately
describes what we have done in
response to the lives claimed by
gun violence every day.
It doesn’t take a senile Shake-
spearean king to tell us nothing
will come of nothing, but instead
of doing something — anything —
we continue to move nowhere in
solving the issue. Doing nothing
will not stop the mass shooting
that might occur tomorrow or the
next day somewhere in the United
States, but something, anything,
might save a life. And a life is cer-
tainly about more than nothing.
— David Harris can be reached
at daharr@umich.edu.
A column about nothing
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T
he shooting of Michael Brown on
August 9, 2014, by Darren Wilson,
then a police officer in Ferguson,
Mo., was a stark wake-up
call to the nation. Though
police violence and brutal-
ity has caused controversy
since the establishment of
law enforcement, Michael
Brown’s killing, along with several others,
brought public safety and the means by which
law enforcement protects the welfare of the
general public under scrutiny. A sequence of
racially charged police misconduct incidents
has sparked a demand for police interactions
with citizens to be public information. The
urgency to reform community policing is
prominent nationwide. The lack of transpar-
ency within police departments intensifies
the strained relationship between police offi-
cers and the community members they serve.
In an effort to combat crime and improve
police-community
relations,
publishing
police data can arm citizens and the police
with the information necessary to reduce
community violence. The federal government
has taken an affirmative stance on increasing
open data practices as a means of combat-
ing police misconduct. On May 18, 2015, the
White House launched the Police Data Initia-
tive, which encourages open data practices
to increase transparency and accountability
in order to improve community policing. The
goal is for police departments to use data and
technology to build community trust and
inform police departments of gaps in inter-
nal policies. One component of this initiative
encourages police departments to release
at least three data sets previously inacces-
sible to the public. Such data sets can include
uses of force, police pedestrian and vehicle
stops and officer-involved shootings. These
data sets will help communities access key
information on police-citizen encounters.
A commitment to cataloging such data will
also enhance internal data measures, such
as early-warning systems, which can assist
police leadership in detecting officers in need
of oversight and additional training.
Increasingly, police departments across
the country are meeting the public’s demands
for more information, and using innova-
tive techniques to increase transparency in
their policing tactics. Cincinnati has a com-
plaint data set that displays a description of
the offense, where it occurred, the officer’s
sex and race, the complainant’s sex and race
and the results of the case. Dallas publishes
officer-involved shootings, disclosing infor-
mation about the officer’s name, the victim’s
name and the jury’s disposition. Louisville,
Ky., lists assaults on officers. Los Angeles
County presents a bar chart on gang-related
crimes as well as a data set that includes lati-
tude and longitude for data analysts to create
maps that could display where there is gang
activity in the area. Open data practices in
policing can make substantial differences in
how departments operate and ensure police
departments receive their proper check and
balance. In Oakland, Calif., use of force inci-
dents, citizen complaints and police shoot-
ings have decreased since the department
began using body cameras. Washington D.C.’s
mayor is developing a policy to ensure public
access to body-cam video by allowing private
citizens to obtain copies of video captured on
street corners, during traffic stops and other
outdoor areas.
Citizens would be able to access this data
through a city’s open data portal. Using data
analysis, data intermediaries can assist police
departments in ensuring the data on the por-
tal is up to date, machine-readable and has
context to explain the narrative behind the
numbers. The information should be present-
ed not only on the open data portal, but also in
PDF format to ensure that data literacy is not
a barrier for residents to access and under-
stand this information. By releasing data,
police departments are able to show positive
trends in policing techniques while also being
transparent about areas of improvement. Cit-
izens will be equipped with up-to-date and
accurate evidence to hold their department
accountable for any discrepancies in depart-
ment practices.
Information empowers people and drives
innovation. Open data practices in policing
can make substantial differences in policing
practices and interactions between the police
and community members. Police depart-
ments in the state of Michigan can be leaders
in responding to the growing nationwide call
to make police data publically accessible by
joining the Police Data Initiative. Open data
allows citizens and police officers to work
collaboratively and authentically to keep
communities in Michigan safe.
— Alexis Farmer can be reached
at akfarmer@umich.edu.
ALEXIS
FARMER
DAVID
HARRIS
CHRISTINA MONIODIS | VIEWPOINT
Over the 14 years since 9/11 — dat-
ing back to when I was turning 14
years old — it’s been hard for me to
distinguish between what develop-
ments were the result of a changing
nation and what were just part of the
natural course of a girl growing up.
The 9/11 terrorist attacks and adoles-
cence coalesced so as to muddle my
interpretation of that day and its con-
sequences. But it was clear that after-
ward, things changed. For a while, I
was fooled and believed this change
to be merely an effect of growing
up, amounting to paperwork, busy-
ness and evolving inventions. But it
was something more. It’s possible I
was just old enough, yet just young
enough, to feel it.
I was beginning my sophomore
year of high school in Metro Detroit.
The president and I were both sit-
ting in school that day. At mine, the
news of the World Trade Center and
Pentagon aired on TV, but it seemed
fictional — impossible to process.
The splinters bursting from the tow-
ers seemed much less real than those
breaking off my aging public school
desk. But soon my world would be
deluged with procedure and policy,
making it quite real: school security
officers became prison guards, prop-
erly packing a carry-on bag became a
required life skill, telephone anten-
nas and cords became leashes. Each
technological “upgrade” amplified
an inescapable surveillance.
This progression to a surveillance
state made it easier for our country to
impose structure and accountability,
but such constant policing posed its
own problems. We became accus-
tomed to a culture lacking privacy,
such that we addictively share all
aspects of ourselves through social
media. Afraid to be alone, we’ve
embraced
constant
connectivity.
Ultimately, an attachment to sleep-
less keepers — both NSA watchmen
and phone companions — devel-
oped. This attachment diverts and
stunts personal growth. It created
a stifling order with no room for
introspection on issues such as war,
loss of life and moral principles.
It is in this stifling order that I see
what was fundamentally lost by our
nation: solitude. This loss was a shift
in our nation’s consciousness.
Privacy and anonymity now feel
criminalized, as if we must account
for every action and thought. The
sentiment permeates popular culture
such that posting images and having
social media followers is paramount.
Are these not the same shadows that
Plato warned against in his Allegory
of the Cave? Can one “know thyself”
so tethered? To participate as citi-
zens, we must see reality. Disconnect
from chains and venture out alone
from the cave to seek natural light
and truth. Solitude, in its quiet inde-
pendence, offers us that chance.
I recall riding a bicycle as a little
girl on my grandma’s Michigan
farm. Taking turn after turn down
the gravel road in a hand-me-down
jacket hanging below my knees, on
a mission as if to find Narnia — until
realizing I had become lost. Bright,
open farmland surrounded me, and
only brown and yellow fall leaves
shuffled about. I needed to find
Wright Road, the old road named
after my family who settled on the
empty land. No gadgets to guide me
and no one watching. Panic turned
to inspiration. I kept pedaling and
exploring. The air tasted fresh. It felt
as though I had pedaled to the pin-
nacle of freedom. Now, accustomed
to the shackles of connectivity, I
wonder if I’d be brave enough to do
something so simple.
Christina Moniodis is a
University alumnus.
A post-9/11 adolescense
SPECTRUM CENTER STAFF | VIEWPOINT
Dear new and returning students,
We at the Spectrum Center are so excited
to welcome you all to (or back to) campus. At
the Spectrum Center, we work with the cam-
pus community on providing support, build-
ing community and offering education around
gender and sexuality. This academic year will
no doubt be a time of learning and growth,
both in and out of the classroom. University of
Michigan students come from so many differ-
ent backgrounds, ideologies and identities, and
yet something we all share is the fact that we
are Wolverines. As Wolverines, we try to work
together to build a community of respect, safe-
ty, learning and compassion.
At the core of the Spectrum Center’s mission
is working toward the goal of building resourc-
es so that everyone on our campus feels sup-
ported in their own unique experience of their
identities throughout their time at the Univer-
sity. With sexual orientation, gender identity
and gender expression as our framework, we
are committed to enriching your campus expe-
rience and developing students as individuals
and community members.
We strive to make our office a welcoming and
inclusive space where you can study, peruse the
Jim Toy Library, use the David Bohnett Cyber
Center, hold group meetings or just hang out.
We host tons of great events throughout the
year, including educational trainings, mentor-
ship, volunteer and leadership opportunities.
Check out our website for more details.
As you unpack your last box, start your first
homework assignments and begin to find your
community on campus, we hope you will think
of us. We invite you to drop by the Spectrum
Center office on the third floor of the Michi-
gan Union for a visit. We’d love to get to know
you, help you find ways to get involved in our
work and learn how we can make your campus
experience amazing. If online interaction is
more your style, you can also connect with us
on our website (spectrumcenter.umich.edu),
via e-mail (spectrumcenter@umich.edu), by
phone at 734-763-4186 or by social media (visit
our website for links).
Finally, from 4 to 6 p.m. tonight we will
be hosting our first ever “Queer Carnival” at
Regents Plaza (look for the big, spinning cube).
There will be carnival snacks, games and a
chance to connect with LGBTQ faculty and
staff, as well as friends and allies. We hope to
see you there.
Wishing you all an exciting and rewarding
year and Go Blue,
Spectrum Center staff
A letter from Spectrum
— President Barack Obama at Macomb Community College in Warren, Mich., while promoting
America’s College Promise, which would grant two years of community college to qualified students.
“
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
Education has always been the secret
sauce, the secret to the country’s success.”
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