This month, we will hear from Ken Barone of the Connecticut Racial Profiling Prohibition Project (CTRP3), a nationally recognized initiative that addresses racial disparities in traffic enforcement through data-driven efforts. Ken will share the project’s origins, its evolution over time, and how it builds trust by using data to engage stakeholders.

We will also hear from a panel of law enforcement and community stakeholders. Together, they’ll discuss what it takes to build trust in data, especially when communities have good reason to be skeptical, and why an open dialogue, transparency about the data’s limitations, and shared ownership matter. Panelists include Chief Jack Drumm, Madison Police Department, and Bill Dyson, Chair of the Project’s Advisory Board.

More about CTRP3: The Alvin W Penn Racial Profiling Prohibition Act, named after a Black state senator from Bridgeport who experienced racial profiling firsthand, became law in 1999. In 2012, CTRP3 was established to standardize how demographic data on traffic stops was collected and analyzed. Its advisory board, which includes police chiefs, state agencies, the ACLU, and the NAACP, has played a key role in ensuring ongoing collaboration and accountability. Many of their advisory board members have been involved in CTRP3 for over a decade.

About this group:

We are a group of data users in Connecticut who are supporting one another as we work toward more equitable data practices. We focus on racial equity explicitly but not exclusively.

Some of the topics we talk about include:

How can we make sure we don't make certain groups invisible through how we disaggregate our data?
How can we learn to focus our attention on the strengths, rather than the deficits, of groups we are seeking to serve or support?
How can we learn from the people who we hope will benefit from our products or services about what their data means to them?
How can we help the institutions that we are part of to be trustworthy so that people will trust us with their information/data?

You can read more about our past events here.

Please feel free to check out the group. And if it is helpful, please share it!

Racial Profiling in CT: Using Data to Measure and Address Disparities