In honor of Open Data Day 2022 (March 5), data.wa.gov will kick off a month of improvements to content titles, descriptions, tags and other core metadata. Metadata documentation provides essential information such as who keeps the data, why the data is significant, what column headings mean, or whether any limitations exist on data use. This information makes content easier to find, understand and use, and is now required for new content. Over the next several weeks, the open data program will work with agencies to brush up and fill in metadata for existing content.

Details about COVID-19 vaccine distribution, including breakdowns by county, age and race/ethnicity, are included in the state's COVID-19 data dashboard under the Vaccinations tab. More detailed discussion of vaccine coverage by race/ethnicity and age is available under the Reports section of the webpage.

A new visualization tool from the Washington Public Disclosure Commission allows the public to map where campaign contributions are coming from, and see how financial support changes over time. Learn more about mapping the money.

Since the May 25 police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the U.S. has experienced widespread public discussion and protests about racial injustice and law enforcement conduct. Among other things, this has renewed attention on law enforcement oversight data. Many scholars and other experts recommend law enforcement agencies and their oversight bodies practice transparency about such issues as misconduct complaints and resolutions, use-of-force incidents, and agency training and hiring patterns. At the state level, the Washington State Patrol’s Office of Professional Standards publishes an Annual Report that summarizes data about these and other matters, including pursuits, allegations of bias and performance improvement measures.

The Stanford Open Policing Project gathers and cleans law enforcement agency data on traffic stops, and tracks various details including drivers' race, sex and age. Project data includes more than 11 million stops by Washington State Patrol since 2008.

The Office of the Attorney General Consumer Complaints data includes a handful of law enforcement misconduct allegations. These are re-directed to the appropriate oversight bodies for the agencies in question.