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OPCR finds large portion of sampled CAD records contain errors; warns cleaning required before response-time reporting
Summary
A 250-call sample of Minneapolis CAD records found threats to validity in roughly a third of sampled calls and additional misuse and error categories, prompting OPCR to recommend standardization and routine data cleaning before citywide response-time analysis is published.
Russell Futisawa, associate director of the Office of Police Conduct Review, told the commission OPCR reviewed a 250‑call sample drawn from roughly 900,000 retained calls-for-service over six years. The validation checked fields including assignment time, unit en route, arrival time, clear time and disposition and cross‑referenced CAD with AVL (automatic vehicle location) to confirm timestamps and movement.
Key findings from the sampled records: about 35% of sampled calls showed “threats to validity” (mismatched call assignment times, units assigned multiple times, or slow‑close entries); roughly 27% showed misuse of CAD (entry patterns inconsistent with intended CAD workflows); and a remaining portion were clear data errors (illogical timestamps, self‑initiated calls miscoded as 911, or calls opened and closed at the same time). OPCR said the sample review required roughly 25 staff‑hours of cleaning and categorization.
Futisawa said the errors do not necessarily mean CAD is unusable but that analysts must clean and validate CAD before drawing operational conclusions; some error types have disproportionate impacts on response‑time calculations while others are largely cosmetic. He recommended establishing CAD usage guidelines, periodic audits, and system fixes when multiple agencies using the same CAD instance cause mismatched fields.
Why it matters: CAD is the source for response‑time reporting and resource planning. OPCR warned that publishing response‑time metrics without data cleaning risks misleading findings about dispatch and unit arrival performance.
What the commission did: Commissioners extended meeting time to receive the report and asked OPCR to finalize the response‑time report only after documenting data‑cleaning steps and limitations.
Source: OPCR CAD data validation presentation (June 15, 2026).
