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Atlanta's Use of Force justice reform website is offline, activists say

By Kevyn Stewart
Published  July 3, 2024 8:17pm EDT
Atlanta Police Department
FOX 5 Atlanta

Atlanta Police Use of Force site not working

Atlanta police made a promise to be transparent when it comes to allegations of police brutality. But, a website designed for people to track those encounters has reportedly been inoperable for quite some time.

ATLANTA - The Southern Center for Human Rights says a key justice reform initiated by the city of Atlanta in 2021 is falling short. Up-to-date data on the city's Use of Force dashboard is not available, and activists say it hasn't been for some time. The site keeps track of incidents where police use force that may injure or kill someone.

"I first noticed early in 2023," said Devin Franklin, movement policy counselor with the Southern Center for Human Rights. "The last time I saw a full year-over-year comparison was 2022 to 2021."

Franklin's organization was working to complete a report assessing police violence in Atlanta. The dashboard is supposed to be updated quarterly, but has not been updated this year.

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"We are aware of errors with the data visualization," the website states. "We are currently working to resolve them as soon as possible."

"If we don't have the facts and data, how can you have responsible, intelligent conversation about a matter so important?" Franklin asked.

Atlanta Police provided the following statement to FOX 5 News:

"The Atlanta Police Department tracks and reviews all Use of Force incidents involving our officers. We continue to maintain our Use of Force data and provide the data for use on the city's One Atlanta Reimaging Reform website. The website is maintained by the Atlanta Information Management's office (AIM, the city's IT department). As the website states, there are data visualization issues AIM is working through and there are currently efforts underway to combine older websites from previous administrations with more current information. This is a technical issue that should be resolved soon.

"APD's Use of Force data is a matter of public record and remains available through the APD. If you would like to request information from the data we maintain, please submit an Open Records Request to our office and we will work to get you the data."

Franklin said his organization has never received a clear answer as to what the problem was or when it would be fixed. He doesn't believe an open records request is the best option for transparency.

"It's saddening to see the city attempt to put the burden of transparency to its tax-paying citizens to request information the City has promised," he said.