SpotCrime - The Public's Crime Map

Born after events leading up to 9/11, N-DeX is the FBI’s National Data Exchange. It was created to help share information across criminal justice agencies in the US. There are hundreds of records management systems utilized in the US and until the evolution of N-DeX, there was no easy way to share information between jurisdictions unless records systems were already connected. N-DeX creates an easier way to link and analyze cross jurisdictional information. This way, police agencies can root out threats before attacks occur as well as accelerating the investigation process. N-DeX is a cloud based system meaning that police agencies can access the system from any secure computer and there is no actual paperwork that needs to be sorted through and sent to retrieve information. Each agency participating will get a secure log in and user name to the database. And it’s free! Here is a video explaining more about how N-DeX works. However, not all agencies are using the N-DeX syste

The Open Data 500 is a list of 500 businesses compiled by The Governance Lab at New York University and is funding by the Knight Foundation . It’s the first comprehensive study of US companies that use open government data as a business resource to innovate. The list is subject to change as the GovLab learns more about each company and how they utilize open data. So some companies may be removed or added once all information is reviewed. SpotCrime is thrilled to be selected and featured as one of the companies.  Open data is free, public data that is available to anyone. SpotCrime utilizes open crime data at a bottom-up approach to compile the largest database of crime information nationwide. We've developed (just to name a few things) crime maps, emailed crime alerts and weekly crime alerts with tailored maps included, SMS alerts, as well as Android and iPhone apps. We are also one of thirteen Maryland companies featured.  The Open Data 500 isn’t just focused on crime d

New York City is the largest city in the US, with a population more than LA and Chicago (the next two most populated US cities) combined. NYC is the cultural hub of the US, historically for Ellis Island and currently for the UN Headquarters,  is home of the largest Asian population in the Western Hemisphere, and the largest Jewish population outside of Israel, just to name a few . In addition to being culturally diverse, it holds the world’s financial center with the NYSE and Wall Street. Tourism is huge in NYC. There are 50.9 million visitors to the city annually. With tourist spots like Times Square commonly referred to as The Crossroads of the World, Broadway as one of the busiest intersections for pedestrians, the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, and Central Park as one of the most visited parks in the US, it’s no wonder the city draws 40.3 million domestic visitors and 10.6 international visitors throughout the year. Some think the crime rate in NYC is rathe

Welcome to the party NYC.  You are last city of your size in the US to openly release your crime data. The new map announced by the NYPD today can be seen here: http://maps.nyc.gov/crime/ Unlike most large cities in the US, it looks like the NYPD has elected not to reveal the raw crime data, but has decided to represent the data in a very clean, and absurdly difficult to navigate map. For some, not clearly, explained reason, crime dates are not provided. You are able to get a map of crimes in a particular month. But the exact date and time are hidden. Crime is mapped to the intersection on approximate block level. This implementation is consistent with most police agencies. The NYPD gets high marks for not using a vendor to regulate access to the data and prevent the public or the press from publishing or sharing the information. Some cities in the US have taken down their public unrestricted feeds and replaced them with vendors that limit access and curtail tabulation of