Last year, in response to calls for more transparency from law enforcement, the White House asked agencies to put police records online in easily searchable formats. More than 50 jurisdictions have signed on – but there’s a problem. According to the Washington Post, some departments have been posting identifying information about crime victims.

For example, the Dallas Police Department posted the names, ages, and home addresses of six people who complained of sexual assault. (Administrators say the posts were made in error, and the names have been removed.) Similar mistakes have been made by other agencies. In at least one case, names were omitted but home addresses were published.

Federal Trade Commission chief technologist Lorrie Cranor says that publishing names, ages, and addresses can put victims of sexual assault and domestic violence at risk. Kaofeng Lee, deputy director of the Safety Net Project at the National Network to End Domestic Violence, agrees. Computer privacy expert Arvind Narayanan says that some departments may not have the technical expertise needed to deal effectively with the privacy issue.

You can read the Washington Post article at this link: http://wpo.st/QhvX1. And you can read about the Police Data Initiative here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/05/18/launching-police-data-initiativ