Austin’s police oversight office has launched a new public dashboard that allows residents to review and analyze police shootings dating back to 2018. In a memo to Mayor Kirk Watson and the Austin City Council, Austin Police Oversight Director Gail McCant said the dashboard is intended to provide “accessible data” to the public, city leaders and analysts as part of the department’s commitment to accountability and transparency.
The dashboard brings together multiple data sources in an interactive format and includes incident summaries with the date, location and narrative of each shooting; demographic information about the people shot and officers involved; use-of-force details, including weapon types; and visualizations showing trends and patterns over time. Users can also filter data by year, council district, ZIP code and other criteria.
McCant said the dashboard was designed to “support public understanding, inform oversight, and empower leadership to make decisions based on up-to-date information.” The oversight office, whose current iteration was established in 2018, released a report that year on police shootings but the new dashboard is the first time it has developed and launched this kind of interactive tool.
The tool is being released in English and Spanish. The English version is available on the Austin Police Oversight website, and the Spanish version can be accessed by clicking “Español” in the lower-left corner of the dashboard’s overview page, according to the memo.
Austin Police Oversight staff plan to demonstrate the dashboard and take questions and feedback at the next Police Oversight Implementation Workgroup meeting on June 6 at the Conley-Guerrero Senior Center.
The launch comes as Austin officials continue to face public scrutiny over police accountability and transparency, including how the city reports and reviews police shootings.
In 2023, Austin voters overwhelmingly approved the Austin Police Oversight Act, a city ordinance that enhanced the oversight office's ability to investigate Austin Police officers accused of misconduct by granting oversight officials direct access to the Austin Police Department's own investigative records.
Since then, the oversight office has struggled to release data around police misconduct and its investigations into complaints against officers in a timely manner. In December, City Council scrutinized oversight officials over gaps in data around officer discipline. Two months later, McCant said her office was taking steps to address the concerns raised by council members.