Episode 51: Going Beyond the Data with Guest Bob Scales

We’re back! With the latest in our new segment “Your Questions, Your Power” - where we help community members understand the importance of asking the right questions of their elected officials and local law enforcement, and how data can be beneficial for creating change. Today we are excited to be joined by Bob Scales - co-founder and CEO of Police Strategies LLC.

After getting reacquainted with each host, we hear from Bob about his background and experience, journey to where he is now, and an explanation of his company’s police force analysis system. Numbers don’t tell you everything you need to know about each police interaction or situation, so their system goes beyond the data to truly understand what’s going on, why there are disparities, and what that means for the police agency and community (and what can be done about it).

We discuss how police are their own worst enemy when it comes to data and transparency, how the media portrays the data about policing, Bob’s experience with police reform and the DOJ/politics involved, his opinion on consent decrees, and the research paper he recently released on use of force. As always with this segment, we also go into detail on what questions to ask to understand the data you’re receiving, the questions you’re allowed to ask your police agency to get more data, and how to best utilize that as a community member.

More about Bob Scales:
Bob Scales is a founding partner of Police Strategies LLC where he currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer. Previously, Scales served as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in King County Washington, a Special Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington, the Assistant Director for Public Safety for the City of Seattle, the Director of the Government Affairs for the Seattle City Attorney, and the Compliance Coordinator for the Seattle Police Department. Scales represented Seattle during the USDOJ pattern or practice investigation of Seattle PD in 2011 and helped to negotiate the subsequent consent decree.  Scales was elected to two terms on the Bainbridge Island, WA City Council and served one year as Mayor.