(The Center Square) – Ongoing concerns remain among 911 dispatch centers in the state over the use of certain data by a police use of force database project headed by Washington State University under the guidance of the State Attorney General’s Office.
In 2023, WSU received a contract from the AGO following a request for proposal to create a police use of force database that would collect certain information from law enforcement agencies regarding use of force incidents. That information would then be available for anyone to view and download from the website.
However, the project has experienced numerous setbacks due to a variety of factors, including stipulations with vendors that they hand over their intellectual property.
At the same time, project leaders have attempted to obtain what is known as computer-aided dispatch data, also known as CAD, from 911 dispatch centers, also known as public safety answering points. WSU sought to get data user agreements signed with various dispatch centers last year, but those efforts came to a standstill after concerns were raised as to the legality of sharing that information with the university.
In an Oct. 18 email obtained by The Center Square and sent to WSU Professor David Makin, who is overseeing the database project, Whitcom 911 declined to release its data to the university for the project after receiving a request for it from Makin as part of “agency compliance with the RCW [Revised Code of Washington].”
Whitcom 911 provides police, fire and EMS dispatch services for agencies in Whitman County and Asotin County.
“Concerns about the possibility of CJIS [Criminal Justice Information Services] violations under the current DUA [draft user agreement] have been brought forth to the Washington State Communications Division and Whitcom is wanting to limit their liability and not be culpable in any wrongdoing,” the email stated. “I understand that this may be a hindrance to the progress you are making with WADEPS [Washington State Data Exchange for Public Safety], but please understand that neither me nor Whitcom want to be put in a position of violating any policies.”
The email came after communications between Makin and AGO Policy Director Sahar Fathi, who in an Oct. 4 email obtained by The Center Square wrote to Makin that efforts to obtain certain types of data he sought were outside the project’s scope.
After Makin sought a follow-up conversation on it that same day, Fathi wrote in an Oct. 24 email that “we would like you to stick with the data elements as listed in the advisory group recommendations. As this program moves forward, we are happy to revisit this conversation.”
When The Center Square reached out to Makin regarding collection of CAD data, he wrote in an email that one local law enforcement agency this month authorized its dispatch center to share CAD data with WSU.
“The data provided to WADEPS includes only seven incident-based data elements authorized by the AGO and is being used only for testing data ingestion and management,” he wrote.
The AGO did not respond to The Center Square’s request for comment regarding how it has advised WADEPS regarding CAD data.
