The D.C. Open Government Coalition (DCOGC) July 27 released a comprehensive look at how each state and 15 of the largest cities are addressing through legislation and policies key issues surrounding implementation of police body cameras. This report is the first to compile a panoply of legislation, policies, regulations and current law into a single, easily accessible and reviewable document.
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Read More… from Washington DC: Coalition publishes nationwide body cam access report
The administration is planning an emphasis on making open data more accessible to the broader public in its annual update to the city's open data plan.
The annual update on July 15 is a key component of the city's open data law passed in 2012, and this year marks the first update under chief analytics officer Amen Ra Mashariki, who assumed his position last fall. Continue>>>
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Read More… from New York: City to focus on making open data more accessible
The Washington Teachers Union and open-government advocates are urging the D.C. Council to slow down a vote that would curb access to information related to teacher evaluations, one of the most controversial aspects of education reform efforts in the District.
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Read More… from D.C. Council considers steps to restrict public access to teacher evaluations
Today South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley will sign S.47, a body camera bill. The bill requires state and local law enforcement agencies in South Carolina to use body cameras and to develop body camera policies and procedures. It also establishes a “Body-Worn Cameras Fund” and prohibits police body camera footage from being accessed via Freedom of Information (FOIA) requests. The increased use of police body cameras is worthwhile, but limiting access to the footage hinders attempts to increase law enforcement accountability.
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Read More… from SC Body Camera Bill Limits Access to Footage
Mathematician Blaise Pascal famously closed a long letter by apologising that he hadn't had time to make it shorter. Unfortunately, his pithy point about "download time" is regularly attributed to Mark Twain and Henry David Thoreau, probably because the public loves writers more than it loves statisticians. Scientists may make things provable, but writers make them memorable.
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Read More… from Open government: getting beyond impenetrable online data
From The News & Observer:
While the candidates are busy arguing over whether voters are better off now than four years ago, developers and open government advocates are working to make sure the answer is yes – at least when it comes to access to political information.
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Read More… from Stump the Geeks: Technology helps to create more informed voters
From The Republic:
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Supreme Court scrapped a plan Monday that would have allowed birth dates and home addresses to be excluded from public court documents.
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