Barron's published a conversation with Billionaire philanthropist and businessman Jeff Green in which he mentioned his interest in the Center for Policing Equity's work, specifically the intersection of data science in police reform. When asked for clarity on the concept of 'data philanthropy,' Green told Barron's:
No matter what we are talking about—homelessness, racial equality, gay rights, anything—it’s emotional and complicated, and so in that environment, what if we brought data to the equation? A nonprofit I’ve spent time with is the Center for Policing Equity. What if we gave police departments data that suggested they can lower the use of force by better screening 911 calls? What if we sent social workers instead of cops? Let’s look at the data. See what happens? We can agree on that, we don’t have to sit down and agree on whether police are good or bad, or “defund the police,” let’s look at the data, it seems like that might be a place where we can have a conversation. Data philanthropy is “let’s bring reason and rational thought to very emotional issues.” It feels like that is the only way we can give most of the amount of good.
Read the full interview on the MarketWatch website.