Take Action: LAPD Removed Crime Location Data. Here's Why It Matters.
Dear SpotCrime Subscriber, For years, residents across Los Angeles relied on public crime data to stay informed about safety in their neighborhoods. That transparency has now disappeared. The Los Angeles Police Department has significantly reduced the availability and usefulness of public crime data during its transition to a new records system. Specifically, it removed block-level crime location information from its open crime data feed, making it effectively impossible for the public to determine where crimes occurred. For more than a decade, SpotCrime has helped Los Angeles residents stay informed by turning public crime data into alerts, maps, and neighborhood awareness tools, Millions of alerts have been delivered to families, commuters, business owners, journalists, researchers, and community members trying to make informed decisions about safety. Now, that flow of information is being restricted. What makes this especially troubling is that independent journalists and watchdog o...