Data, Data, Data
One of my favorite movie lines is Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes saying, “Data, data, data, I need data.” Data is the life blood of planners providing the nutrients to make accurate and informed decisions. However, we must be careful because we can drown in the massive waves of easily available data or we can be pushed off course by a data tidal wave. It is a perfect example of too much of a good thing can be a bad.
In college, one of my professors said with enough statistics and the right words you can make the information say anything you want. That is a major problem for planners in this technology based age. With the ease of obtaining data, particularly from the internet, we have to be extremely vigilant in determining the accuracy and true value of the data. Planners must seek out the thread of truth buried within the masses of raw data.
Planners want to have enough data to find the truth of a situation. Our compiled data should include sources from outside and within law enforcement and include those that we agree and disagree with. Once we find the truth we should gather additional data to confirm the accuracy of our discovered truth. The best option, if available, is to have another person check the accuracy of what we determined to be the truth. Think of the truth as a gold nugget and the data as the dirt and rock creating a mountain side. We have to dig through half a mountain to find a single nugget. However, once a nugget is found it is usually easier to find more.
When we find our truth nugget we must protect it like a 1849 Gold Rush Miner with some gold flakes headed to town. Others may try to steal it, alter it, or make it useless to us. They will try to manipulate us or the data to suit their needs, desires, and/or politics. Do not let emotion, opinion, or misrepresentation degrade and devalue your nugget of truth. After the truth is released from the data mountain it just needs a little polish and it is ready to be used. Much like a Facebook post I saw. “The truth is like a Lion. It does not need protection. Just set it free and it will protect itself.”
In the current political climate it is painfully obvious that data is being manipulated to the point of misunderstanding and purposeful misrepresentation. A simple example of manipulating data is the choice of words that accompany the data. Consider the difference between “unarmed” and “not a threat.” Recently, many media outlets have members of the public believing that if someone does not have a firearm they are therefore “unarmed and not a threat.” Those in law enforcement know this to be an inaccurate, misleading, and dangerous conclusion.
We cannot cherry pick the data that will support what we want, what our supervisors want, or what is politically correct. We cannot allow others or ourselves to make decisions first and then cherry pick the data that supports the decision. We have then effectively reversed the process of decision making. Look closely and you will see that it is a very common practice. If we cherry pick the data used we are doing ourselves, our supervisors, our agency, and our community a disservice.
This is why data must be confirmed accurate and then checked again before using it. Put another way, bad data in creates bad product out. Now go forth IALEP planners and dig deep for those golden nuggets of data, but make sure you are not wasting your time with the easily found Pyrite (fool’s gold) that will lead you astray. Take care and stay safe.