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NYPD Squanders Millions on ‘Sentiment Meter’ Survey that is Not Used

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By: Hadassa Kalatizadeh

The New York Police Department is gearing up to award another contract to a Brooklyn-based start-up, for a “Sentiment Meter” regarding the people’s opinion of the NYPD, though some insiders say they don’t even use it.

As reported by the NY Post, since 2017, the city has already paid out to $2.9 million in taxpayer money to Elucd Inc. through a no-bid contract with CUNY’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Elucd’s “Sentiment Meter” is an electronic survey that arbitrarily pops up on apps like Candy Crush and WeatherBug while in use in targeted areas of New York City. Through it, each month roughly 7,500 residents are asked, on a scale of 1 to 10, whether they feel safe and trust the police, the NYPD says.

“This tool gives us information about how the community members that police officers work with every day feel,” said Devora Kaye, the NYPD’s acting Deputy Commissioner of Public Information.

So far, the NYPD has only released limited data, namely the citywide monthly average scores from September 2016 through August 2019. Therein, the NYPD’s overall trust rating improved a tad from 6.1 to 6.6, and its safety score dropped slightly from 6.6 to 6.3, as per charts released by the department.

Requests for release of data by specific neighborhood or precinct, which may reveal significant contrasts, have been ignored. “Where is the data?” tweeted Ed Mullins, president of the Sergeant Benevolent Association, in September. “We are all waiting to hear what the community has said on that polling. Why is everyone silent about it?” Experts are in agreement that the results should be published. “If the NYPD paid for this data, even if the data doesn’t make you look good, in the age of transparency you still have to release it,” said John Jay professor Joseph Giacalone. Others don’t necessarily believe the results of the query are derogatory, but rather a waste. Many of the police officers questioned by the Post said they never heard of it. “No one uses it,” said one high-ranking official.

In July, the NYPD announced in the City Record, that it wants to award Elucd another contract, saying it “knows of only one vendor” who meets its requirements. The price and time frame for the new contract was not specified. “The NYPD anticipates that introducing these measurements will position the Department to hone the allocation of resources, setting of priorities, and deployment of programs to best meet the needs and expectations of New York City residents,” it said.

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