City of Hampton cannot be allowed to sell public information that We the People paid for while refusing to give it to taxpayers—it’s *our* information!

We submit this petition to ensure that City of Hampton does not enter into any contract regarding public data without guaranteeing equal, open access to data by the public.

Recently, local news for WVEC-3 reported that City of Hampton Police Department began using a software service known commonly as crimereports.com. We commend City of Hampton and WVEC-3 for bringing attention to local crime data reporting. We understand through experience the high value people place on public safety information.

We laud City of Hampton’s decision to publish public safety data using modern web technology. We recognize the burden placed on City of Hampton to publish public safety data according to the expectations of consumer technology. We further recognize the needs and incentives behind City of Hampton’s decision to contract with a private company to help the city publish public safety data for public benefit.

City of Hampton must not make any agreements that restrict public domain access to data it publishes. City of Hampton should not enter into contracts that exchange special access and restrictive copyrights for services. City of Hampton should not require the public to use separate methods or services to access public information being made available to third parties via contracted agreement.

We expect that there is a burden of cost to City of Hampton to upgrade its information technology and deliver better information services. Whether done by government of private company there is cost in transforming data into usable forms. We encourage City of Hampton to pursue innovative solutions to their overall business model for publishing government data and procuring high quality analytic reports from data. Whether from source data or finished product, when public funds are used to produce or consume information the public own that information. We want City of Hampton to know that there are for-profit and not-for-profit companies that will work with the City to publish public safety and other government data according to all of the requirements set forth without sacrificing quality of service or the public’s right to government data free from copyright restriction.

It is vital these requirements for government data be established and maintained. Failure to do so undermines public trust in government. It not only feeds suspicion but it results in poor services. We are in a critical moment of our history when trust in government is low and specifically when trust in government to do the right thing with information and technology is especially important for democracy.