UNDERSTAND DATA
Glossary of terms
CPE aims to use language that can be understood by all people. However, we do use some words and phrases which are common among certain groups—like police officers or academics—but may be unfamiliar to others. This glossary of terms aims to define such words and phrases used in the Justice Navigator.
1
Analysis (and “analyses”)
The process of collecting, organizing, and evaluating data to identify trends and produce useful insights, or the result of this process (for example, we refer to our findings as an “analysis” or multiple “analyses”).
2
Calls for Service
Events reported via 911 calls, non-emergency calls to the department, direct contact with officers, or 311 calls that were routed to the police for a response. Calls for service data do not capture public safety concerns that community members did not call 911 or seek police services to address, making them an incomplete measure of community members’ public safety priorities.
3
Cited (and “citation”)
When someone is cited after a stop, they receive a ticket (or citation) with instructions to appear in court at a later date or pay a fine.
4
Computer Aided Dispatch
Computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems are the central recording platform for all officer-initiated activity and responses to calls for service. Dispatchers record information on calls for service in CAD systems (such as call type, location, and call time) and use it to dispatch calls to police or other emergency responders, depending on the nature of the call. The dispatch information (such as which officer(s) responded to the call or the call response time) is also recorded. Officers also record their self-initiated activity (such as vehicle and pedestrian stops) in CAD systems. CAD systems, therefore, provide the most comprehensive source of data on police activity.
5
Contraband
Items which, according to police records, were possessed unlawfully, such as unlicensed weapons, stolen property, or unlawful drugs.
6
Demographics
Data about certain sections of a population, such as the part of a city’s population that falls into different age, gender, or racial groups.
7
Discretionary
Something that is based on individual choice. In policing, some searches are considered mandatory if officers are required to do them based on department policy or law (for example, while making an arrest). Other searches are based on an officer’s discretion, meaning the officer chooses whether to search the person/place or not.
8
Disparity
A difference across groups being studied. For example, we identify “racial disparities” in pedestrian stops when the data being analyzed show that members of one racial group are stopped more or less frequently than members of other groups, given their share of the population.
9
Disproportionate
Larger or smaller than expected, compared to something else (for example, the share of a racial group in a city’s population).
10
Incident
A single occasion when a member of the public was stopped or had force used on them by a police officer or officers.
11
Methodology
A system of rules and principles for doing research: for example, the way that an analysis was conducted.
12
Officer-Initiated Activities
Events that officers initiated based on their own observations or assignment, rather than in direct response to a call for service. This includes officers being assigned to particular activities (such as a patrol or school resource officer assignment), requests for assistance from other officers or from outside agencies, and other activities police typically have some discretion over (such as vehicle and pedestrian stops). Officer-initiated activity may also be influenced by community requests for public safety services that are not captured in the calls for service data, such as public safety concerns communicated in community forums or council meetings.
13
Outcome
The recorded action taken by police during an encounter with a member of the public, such as an arrest, citation, or warning.
14
Pedestrian
Someone who is not driving and not a passenger in a vehicle (i.e., a person on foot or on a non-motorized vehicle such as a bicycle).
15
Racial group
A group of people who are seen to belong to the same racial category, and therefore may share some similar experiences. We obtain racial data from forms that officers are required to complete for every incident. These forms generally require the officer to record their perception of the racial group of the person they interacted with. The racial group recorded by the officer might not necessarily reflect the person’s own racial identity.
16
Regression analysis
A mathematical way to estimate the possibility of something happening, after removing the influence of one or more other factors that may affect that possibility. For example, our regression analysis can show whether and how a person’s racial group might affect their likelihood of being stopped or of having force used on them, apart from the influence of factors like the crime rate, poverty rate, or demographics of the neighborhood where the incident occurred.
17
Standardized
Made consistent; data that is standardized shows information in the same format so that it can be easily analyzed.
18
Quantitative
Having to do with numbers; data or research is “quantitative” if it measures the quantity of something.
19
Use of force
Most police departments require completion of a form whenever an officer uses their body, a tool, or a weapon on someone to compel compliance or in a way that could cause pain, injury, or death. The data we present about use of force incidents comes from these records that officers create. For information on how we analyze use of force incidents, see “More information” in the Justice Navigator assessment.
20
Work unit
A work group within a police department, which might include different policing assignments (for example, “Traffic Enforcement”) or different geographic locations (for example, “District 12”) within which an officer works.
