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Participants in the 2024 Fall Data Challenge will engage in the statistical investigative process to explore and analyze police call-for-service data in conjunction with a second dataset of their choice from a city or state government data portal.

“Calls for service to law enforcement agencies generally include calls to “911” for emergency assistance and may also include calls to non-emergency numbers. Generally, “311” data is not included in calls for service data.” (calls for service - city open data) 

This is your opportunity to uncover insights and tell a compelling story through data visualization and innovative analysis. Participants are encouraged to creatively combine these datasets, whether it's crime statistics, demographic information, or social services data, to develop data-driven solutions that could inform policy decisions, optimize resource allocation, or enhance community outreach programs.

As you begin your work, this paper from the American Political Science Review of interest.

Teams will share their insights with a panel of judges.

The Data

Sources for datasets:

• City Open Data - Calls-for-Service.xlsx

• National Archive of Criminal Justice Data - https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/web/pages/NACJD/index.html

• Data-Smart City Solutions - https://datasmart.hks.harvard.edu/

• Open Data Repositories – US and International - https://library.carleton.ca/find/gis/geospatial-data/open-data-repositories-us-and-international

Some potential sources of auxiliary data are:

• US Census Bureau, American Community Survey - https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs, https://data.census.gov/ 

• Police-Public Contact Survey (PPCS) -https://bjs.ojp.gov/data-collection/police-public-contact-survey-ppcs 

• Urban Institute - https://www.urban.org/data-catalog 

• Pew Research Center - https://www.pewresearch.org/datasets/ 

How does it work?

Teams of 2-5 students currently enrolled in high school, two-year college, or four-year college may participate. Each team must have a sponsor such as a teacher, professor or parent. Inter-organizational teams are allowed. Teams with both high school and undergraduate students on the same team will be judged in the undergraduate category. Middle school students will be accepted but will be judged in the high school category. Entries will be evaluated by a panel of judges using this rubric.

Submissions

Teams are required to submit a presentation (PowerPoint) with the goal of analyzing police call-for-service data in conjunction with a second dataset of their choice . 

It should be clear from the presentation how the team utilized available data to develop their analysis and visualization.

The presentation must contain a description of the technical details of their work. 

The presentation must be no more than 10 slides.

The preferred submission format is a pdf of the presentation.

All submitted material must be in English.

Entries are due by 5 p.m. ET on December 2, 2024.

Use this form to submit your presentation.

Prizes

Each member of the winning team will receive a $50 gift card.

Awards will be given in three categories high school, two-year college, four-year college.

Of course, the winners will have bragging rights!