SpotCrime Offers Free Software To Police

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SpotCrime - the most visited crime mapping website and most comprehensive online source for crime data - is introducing SpotCrime Catapult, a free software solution that allows police departments worldwide to make their crime data public.

Catapult was created by SpotCrime developers and enables any police department to export public crime data from their records management system. In addition to the free software, SpotCrime is also offering any police department that, on or before December 31, 2013, implements Catapult and makes their crime data available to the public, up to $2,000 in reimbursement to defray costs of implementation. Alternatively, SpotCrime is willing to itself provide the technical services to help implement the software. The offer is subject to more detailed terms and conditions set forth here http://bit.ly/131j4xg.

“With open data initiatives rolling out everywhere, SpotCrime wants to make it easy for police departments to release their crime data and participate in the open initiatives in their city,” says SpotCrime Founder and President Colin Drane. “We understand the budget constraints facing police departments, which is why we are offering this software for free.”

In true open data spirit, SpotCrime will not take any ownership control of the program once it is installed, nor will the company request exclusive access to the program. “The only thing SpotCrime asks is that the data pulled by Catapult be made available to everyone,” notes Drane.

Open data creates a level of transparency with residents and public officials, increasing trust and accountability. “Our goal is to help the process on how public resources are allocated. SpotCrime has always been a strong proponent of open access to data,” Drane continues. “The easier it is for a community to access and share crime data, the higher the chance that community will be proactive in the fight against crime.”

SpotCrime currently sends email alerts to over half a million subscribers and anticipates sending 95 million email alerts in 2013. SpotCrime estimates that more than 10 million people interact with the crime data the company generates each month.

The company has attracted numerous subscribers through its partnerships with major U.S. media companies, including the two largest television operators in the US, Gannett, and Sinclair Broadcast Group. SpotCrime works with Life360, the biggest family network on mobile, who services over 40 million subscribers to date and also partners with LifeShield, the leading wireless home security provider.

In addition, SpotCrime’s iPhone application allows users to obtain detailed crime descriptions and share crime incidents with others via email.

“SpotCrime is a commercial enterprise. We do not take any public funding and have no interest in locking up data,” explains Drane. “SpotCrime’s intent is to get all relevant crime information to the public, taking full advantage of the Internet to allow this data to be shared, ultimately driving both greater awareness and new measures that will lead to a reduction in crime.”

For more information on SpotCrime Catapult, send an email to catapult@spotcrime.com or call (619) 663-7768.

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