Enhancing public visibility: analyzing police information accessibility in Washington State

Purpose Prior research has explored the degree to which police agencies make information available to the public through their websites. This research updates that body of literature with a more recent analysis that captures trends in public visibility for an entire state, while simultaneously exploring the degree to which community and agency characteristics are associated with public visibility. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected statewide from agencies in Washington State, producing a sample size of 240 agencies, of which 239 agencies had websites. Websites were coded along 54 indicators using a standardized codebook with information related to public visibility. The analysis made use of both descriptive statistics and Firth penalized logistic regression models. Findings Despite a virtual uniform online presence, there was considerable variation in online visibility measures across agencies. Descriptively, larger agencies provide more information online than smaller agencies. Regression results suggest that household income and civilian staff were the most consistent correlates, suggesting that environmental context and administrative capacity may play an important role in public visibility. Originality/value This study provides a near census of agencies in Washington state, distinguishes basic web presence from the availability of transparency and accountability-relevant information, and provides advanced analyses of the covariates correlated to public visibility measures.