Washington state has begun to track when and how state and local police use force, such as firing a gun or striking an individual. The Washington State Data Exchange for Public Safety was officially launched this week and aims to make law enforcement data more accessible to the public and officials. The program is set to begin in September, when around 300 law enforcement agencies will begin reporting data to the state database. Before this new program, there hadn't been a standardized way for departments to track when officers used force or compare their data with other agencies.
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