"In order to solve a problem you must first understand the magnitude of the problem" said Albany Chief City Auditor Dorcey Applyrs.

In front of Albany City Hall, and under a Black Lives Matter banner, chief auditor Dorcey Applyrs announced a racial basis audit of the city’s police department begins this week.

"The data retrieved and analyzed through the audit process will be used to evaluate APD’s policies, initiatives, and practices," said Applyrs.

That work will be done by analysts at the Virginia based consulting group CNA. Experts will evaluate five years of Albany Police data - including traffic stops, use of force, and other community interactions.

"They will also be conducting interviews with residents and stakeholders across the city," said Applyrs.

The audit of the department comes after Governor Cuomo called for a comprehensive review of local police forces. It’s work Chief Eric Hawkins says he agrees with.

"I think every two or three years anyway, police departments across the country should review. Take a step back, and review their operations with their community to make sure that their operations are aligned with the expectations of the community," said Hawkins.

Data collected from the audit will be used to make recommendations in order to eliminate any racial bias.

"This is going to give us sort of that data tool that we need to very quickly evaluate and determine whether or not we’re impacting the community in the ways that we want to," said Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan (D).

A preliminary report is expected by the end of September.