BUFFALO, N.Y. -- It's information Buffalo Common Council President Darius Pridgen says can be the beginning of positive change.
"I'm not saying that we are in the best position when it comes to policing in Buffalo. I'm saying I want us to be in a better position," said Pridgen.
Back in July, the lawmakers asked for data on police checkpoints in the city. That request stemmed from complaints that the department unfairly focused on the East Side, and therefore on minority populations.
Police say a number of factors go into deciding where they hold a check.
"We look at 311 complaints, people who call in to say that there's people speeding down the street or there's people who run stop lights or red lights. It's based on social media complaints we receive, it's based on number of car accidents," said BPD Lt. Jeff Rinaldo.
The council requested data on the past three years' worth of stops. The information released covered this August and September.
"It's data that just wasn't tracked. So in other words, we knew that traffic safety checkpoints were occurring," said Rinaldo. "We didn't necessarily keep track of every type of summons written at those."
According to Pridgen, it showed that stops occurred in all parts of the city, although Lovejoy saw the most with 27.
"I'm very much aware that those who are concerned may then feel, 'Well, what happened before the common council got involved?'" said Pridgen.
Pridgen says the police commissioner contacted him about an additional six months of data he didn't realize was available. The council president says he expects that will be released in the coming weeks.
"I think there should be even more data released publicly, to the public, about police activity, law enforcement activity for one reason: to build public trust," said Pridgen.
In that way, he says residents can be better informed and take more active roles in keeping their communities safe.
Pridgen says he'd like to see checkpoint data released quarterly.