The Best of 2021 | Page 18

process is how leading agencies improve community relations .

www . AmericanSecurityToday . com 2021 CHAMPIONS - Edition 60

The Rochester Police Depart- ment ( RPD ), in upstate New York , understood the importance of launching their open data por- tal and iterating based on com- munity feedback over time .

RPD hosts a mobile-friendly webpage , provides codebooks to guide users through termi- nology , and integrates open data into a greater community engagement and social media plan .” 6

This story is only one example of 130 + member agencies efforts with the Police Data Initiative .

Authenticity is key to unlocking a community s problem-solving potential . Engaging authen- tically means that all parties come to the table prepared to be open , vulnerable , and honest about their intentions .

If stakeholders can assume ev- eryone present has good inten- tions , then they can connect as neighbors . This allows for more progress than would be made if

18