APD has a new data dashboard - is it reliable?
Now that the Austin Police Department (APD) has a new crime data dashboard, KXAN sat down with the person in charge of the portal to ask what goes into it, and how staff make sure the data is accurate.
AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Now that the Austin Police Department (APD) has a new crime data dashboard, KXAN sat down with the person in charge of the portal to ask what goes into it, and how staff make sure the data is accurate.
"In recent years we've seen an increased interest in being able to analyze our data," said Auzzie Krobatsch, APD's acting chief data officer.
The new dashboard came to life as a result of a city council resolution calling for an easier way for the policy makers and the public to view crime statistics.
Krobatsch said the information in the dashboard comes straight from reports that officers write up about their cases. The same data existed in the city's open data portal prior to the creation of the dashboard, but it wasn't as user-friendly.
To ensure and public data coming from APD is accurate, Krobatsch said, the department started sending its data to the state for quality control checks in 2019.
"Our error rates are less than 1% right now," she said.
In addition to the state checks, she said the department also updated its internal records management system.
"So when officers are actually entering their data, they're being warned if there's something that doesn't make sense," Krobatsch said.
In earlier data sets, Krobatsch did say she found some inaccuracies. She said they resulted from certain sensitive crimes - like sex assaults or crimes against children - not being included in the spreadsheets of the data. She said such cases weren't used because the data set also included particular information that could identify victims or put them in danger.
The new dashboard pulls from a raw data set that does not include that kind of identifying information, so Krobatsch said the numbers on the current dashboard now accurately reflect the numbers of crimes.
She also noted that the dashboard is a "living, breathing system," so things could change if crimes get reclassified as investigations move forward.
KXAN is speaking with Council Member Vela to get his thoughts on the dashboard later this afternoon. Check back for updates.