Press Releases v Crime Data Feed
Which is more valuable when trying to inform citizens of crime in their area - Press Releases or a crime data feed?
Answer: Both - when used together
Check out the SpotCrime Ottawa, Canada map. This department does not offer a public and open access to crime data, so we map crime here solely from press releases sent out by the department.
Press releases normally include a lot of description and detail - descriptions of suspects including what they look like and what they were wearing, a step by step account of what happened, the approximate time the incident occurred, what type of items were stolen, the date, the case report - pretty much anything that can help solve a crime or help inform the public of what has occurred. However, press releases are only released on certain crimes that the department thinks is noteworthy or important. Check out the Ottawa map again -
You can see that the department releases a lot of information about robberies occurring in certain locations. This raises a lot of questions - don’t robberies happen in other parts of the city too? Why were only those locations selected? Why were only robberies selected? As a resident or visitor to the city, wouldn’t you want to know about not only robberies, but other crimes too? Why is it left to the department determine if one crime is more noteworthy than the other? Aren’t all robberies (and all crimes) important to know about?
Now, check out the Ottawa, Canada crime map that is run by a vendor the police department pays to display public crime data on their site. This map most likely shows crime incidents pulled from the department’s RMS. There are a lot more incidents on this map than the SpotCrime map. However, the description of the crime is short and sometimes non-existent.
We’ve found that in the crime mapping realm, descriptions and details are of high demand with the public. People want to know as much about a crime as possible. They want to become better informed so they know how to prevent similar crimes from happening, to prevent themselves from becoming a victim, and to help the police department solve crimes.
Take our Frederick, MD map for example. We have been unable to collect a crime incident log from the department and have resorted to press releases.
Frederick crimes are always the most viewed crimes on our site. This is unusual, considering Frederick’s population is about 66k when typically our other most viewed crimes are from big cities like New York, Dallas, or Austin.
People in Frederick want to know about crime in their city and because the press releases are very detailed, the narrative gives residents the opportunity learn about the entire incident. This leaves more information to share amongst friends, families, and neighbors and more information for residents to become better informed.
We feel a public crime data feed isn’t complete without detail. Incident type, date, time, location, and a detailed description. Does your local police department release as much detail as possible on crimes in your neighborhood?
Answer: Both - when used together
Check out the SpotCrime Ottawa, Canada map. This department does not offer a public and open access to crime data, so we map crime here solely from press releases sent out by the department.
Now, check out the Ottawa, Canada crime map that is run by a vendor the police department pays to display public crime data on their site. This map most likely shows crime incidents pulled from the department’s RMS. There are a lot more incidents on this map than the SpotCrime map. However, the description of the crime is short and sometimes non-existent.
We’ve found that in the crime mapping realm, descriptions and details are of high demand with the public. People want to know as much about a crime as possible. They want to become better informed so they know how to prevent similar crimes from happening, to prevent themselves from becoming a victim, and to help the police department solve crimes.
Take our Frederick, MD map for example. We have been unable to collect a crime incident log from the department and have resorted to press releases.
People in Frederick want to know about crime in their city and because the press releases are very detailed, the narrative gives residents the opportunity learn about the entire incident. This leaves more information to share amongst friends, families, and neighbors and more information for residents to become better informed.
We feel a public crime data feed isn’t complete without detail. Incident type, date, time, location, and a detailed description. Does your local police department release as much detail as possible on crimes in your neighborhood?
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