HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — The Mayor of Huntington believes getting people more information will help them better understand the work done by the city’s first responders. Patrick Farrell recently unveiled the city’s Public Safety Dashboard, to give residents of the city access to data the city leadership uses to make policing decisions.
“It’s data that other people don’t get to see and make decisions about what we do. The Public Safety Dashboard was a way for us to put that data on line in a way that residents can clearly see what’s going on in the city and explore the crime trends and the police activity and crises response happening every day in the city,” said Farrell.
The dashboard is available on the city’s website and offers a look at the variety of calls police respond to on a daily basis. Farrell said it will be good for the public to be able to see and understand not every call is for criminal activity.
“Crime looks different today than what most people have experienced. Meaning our police department is engaging with the homeless population so it’s not just about criminal activity, but its about engaging with people in crises,” he explained.
Farrell said often the public doesn’t understand the data gives city leaders the directions to respond. Strategies for policing as well as those for the city’s handling of homeless issues is often tied to trends reflected in the data.
“When you think about public safety today, I think it sits at the intersection of policing, healthcare, and social services. Without seeing the data, I think it’s easy to misunderstand what the police officer is dealing with every day,” he added.
Farrell hoped the new dashboard would eliminate some of the misunderstanding about how the city is addressing criminal activity.