SpotCrime - The Public's Crime Map

Early intervention systems to reduce police violence, KKK embedded in Florida law enforcement, crisis response team achieve 70% reduction in people taken into custody, gun violence, pediatric gun violence costs, more guns than ever stolen from cars in Nashville, predictive policing, spy tech in Boston, DNA tests, Dallas roll back open data, restorative justice, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Early Intervention Systems (EIS) may be effective in reducing police violence and other forms of misconduct. However, there is scant research finding direct, causal effects of such systems on officer performance outcomes  (CCJ Task Force on Policing) We Tracked What Happens to Police After They Use Force on Protesters  (ProPublica) KKK members embedded in Florida law enforcement An Army veteran was undercover with the KKK for 10 years as part of an FBI investigation.  (First Coast News) New law named for Vanessa Guillén will revamp military investigations into sexual assault, harassment ...

Virtual mugshots, facial recognition, crime data, guns and suicide, Log4J flaw, retail thefts, violent crime by children, body cams, predictive policing, police misconduct database, prison population decreased in 2020, criminal justice data, marginal cost of incarceration, and more... POLICE CONDUCT NYPD Utilizes ‘Virtual Mugshots’ Despite City Hall’s Words  (GovTech) The Challenge of Attracting More African Americans to Police Careers  (TheCrimeReport.org) Citizens Police Data Project collects and publishes information about police misconduct in Chicago  (Citizens Police Data Project) Bogged down by data, police services need process rethink: study New research shows too much paperwork may hinder effective policing  (Western U News) Justice Department Awards More Than $17.5 Million to Support Project Safe Neighborhoods  (Justice.gov) CRIME RATE Hackers launch over 840,000 attacks through Log4J flaw  (ArsTechnia) Increase in Colorado’s property crime rate b...

Civil forfeiture, FBI 2020 data and potential shutdown of use-of-force database, violence and relations to socio-economic structures, gun violence, body cams, justice-as-a-platform, tech and data help improve police transparency, access to police disciplinary records, data driven solutions in the justice, US public divided over prison sentences, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Yes, police in most states can seize your money even if you’re not charged with a crime  (11Alive) The Emerging National Tragedy of Police Suicides  (TheCrimeReport.org) FBI may shut down police use-of-force database due to lack of police participation  (Washington Post) see also:  New report hits DOJ over lack of police shooting data  (AXIOS) Gender Differences in Law Enforcement Officer Stress and Coping Strategies  (SagePub Journals) Denver DA supports some recommendations in public safety task force report  (9News) Ron DeSantis calls for Florida state military guard that he would ...

Louisiana law department that polices itself, medical workers for mental health, police officer identification stickers for special needs residents, stopping retail mob thefts, Indianapolis campus safety, gun violence, transparency and trust in law enforcement, public access to body cam footage, Tallahassee backtracks on new crime alert policy, second chances in Pennsylvania's sentencing system, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Former Clay County sheriff's criminal trial could be delayed  (First Coast News) UNWATCHED: A Louisiana Law Department That Polices Itself  (ProPublica) Florida massacre families to get millions for FBI’s inaction  (AP) As O.C. police face scrutiny for shootings, Irvine starts using medical workers for mental health calls  (LATimes) Police offering stickers for special needs residents  (The Downey Patriot) Billionaire Ross Perot, Jr. donates new helicopter to Dallas Police Department  (WFAA) Biden signs three bills benefitting police, firs...

Officers tired of overtime, police use data driven decision making, K9 disobedience, dangerous domestic violence calls highlight need for reform, police tech and the connection to transparency, lack of data hinders studies on police, Dallas Police remove data from open data portal, data transparency builds trust in police, access to body cam footage, prison banking practices,  and more... POLICE CONDUCT Head of Illinois police training agency fired over improper law enforcement certification given to son of legendary investor Warren Buffett  (Chicago Tribune) Tired of overtime, officer announces resignation on police radio  (WABI) Disobedient: Police K-9 disobedience caught on camera  (WTSP) Chicago Police face stricter reporting rules under settlement of decade-long dispute over inequitable deployment of officers  (Chicago Sun Times) Police use data driven decision making to protect Tucson  (KGUN 9) Lincoln Police mental health coordinator improving depart...

Communities highlight need for crime prevention, USCs troubling delay in reporting crime, police traffic stops, inside gun detection software, Tesla police cars tested in Spokane, using tech to stop human trafficking, a billionaire's son border war, prison staff shortages among COVID, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Dayton to use mediation response for some nonviolent 911 calls  (Dayton Daily News) What do the Rural Folks Think? Perceptions of Police Performance  (Oxford Academic) The Demand for Money Behind Many Police Traffic Stops  (NYTimes) Central Pa. police officers fired for turning in fake COVID-19 vaccination cards: report  (PennLive.com) LMPD youth Explorer sexual abuse lawsuits settle for more than $3 million  (WDRB) USC admits to ‘troubling delay’ in warning about fraternity drugging, sex assault reports  (LATimes) Howard Buffett's Border War: A Billionaire's Son Is Spending Millions in Cochise County  (Phoenix New Times) CRIME RATE Community me...

Police budgets are used not only to hire officers, but also to purchase tech from companies to aid in police work. Anything from body cams to surveillance tech to in-car computers to RMS/CAD systems are typically hired out to a private vendor company rather than created and maintained in house by the police departments themselves. We came across a paper by Elizabeth E Joh published at the NYU School Law Review titled ’The Undue Influence of Surveillance Technology Companies on Policing’ . Joh specifically focused on the influence surveillance companies have over police departments which adversely affects policing leaving consequences for civil liberties and police oversight. This same concept can be applied to police vendors hired to house police data in Records Management System (RMS) and Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) systems. These vendor systems are in charge of a trough of public data - from arrest records to body cam footage to crime blotters to use of force to police reports. Th...

Police staffing crisis, use of force, addressing violent crime, focused interruption, evaluating camera surveillance use by police, geofence warrants, body cams, crime rate, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Officials vow to increase police staffing, with available officers at historic low  (Berkeleyside.org) see also:  Chicago on pace to lose more than 1,000 officers due to resignation, retirement  (WGN) and also:  How Phoenix is handling 'crisis' police staffing situation  (KJZZ) Five times as many police officers have died from Covid-19 as from gunfire since start of pandemic  (CNN) Governor releases third-party review of state law enforcement. The report assessed curriculums, training standards, policies and practices.  (WTHR) Examining the Risk of Recurring Use of Force Incidents Among Newly Hired Police Officers  (SAGE Journals) Trainers show media the ‘other side’ of deadly shootings and use of force by police  (KETK) Tiny wrists in cuffs: Ho...

NJ cops can't be fired or promoted based on arrests, New Mexico removing police from mental health calls,  unpacking gun violence, Chicago consent decree, new company analyzes body cam audio for problem officers, 3 states begin to share gun crime data, better crime databases needed, TN kids charged with crimes that don't exist, and more... POLICE CONDUCT N.J. cops can’t be fired or promoted based on how many arrests they make under new law  (NJ.com) Washington State Patrol’s hiring under fire as agency failed to diversify over decades  (Seattle Times) State Police trooper who cried foul over brutality incidents is notified he'll be fired  (NOLA.com) Middle Georgia police officer shot, killed on his first shift  (AJC) Lynchburg Police Dept. makes staffing changes to compensate for 28 officer vacancies  (WFXR) In New Mexico, a bold experiment aims to take police out of the equation for mental health calls  (The Washington Post) New Report On Chicago Poli...

DHS commission looks at best law enforcement practices, CA law strips badges from bad officers, NYC union leader resigns,  'hunting' protestors in Minneapolis, domestic violence awareness, looking at recent FBI crime data, flawed gang database, geofence warrants, OH promises transparency in felony cases, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Columbus police to focus on gangs as part of crackdown on violence  (WBNS) St. Louis is overhauling its 911 system to fix long hold times  (STLPR) California enacts law to strip badges from bad officers  (AP News) Flagstaff City Council approves $2.5 million contract for mobile alternate response unit  (AZ Daily Sun) Fatal police violence by race and state in the USA, 1980–2019: a network meta-regression  (The Lancet) see also:  More Than Half of Police Killings Are Mislabeled, New Study Says  (New York Times) New DHS commission will look at best law enforcement practices: Mayorkas  (ABC News) Body cam footage shows...

Bipartisan talks for police reform end, tracking use-of-force not so easy, AGs address police accountability, studying the mental health of police officers, LA DA dismisses marijuana convictions, murders rose in 2020, not all agencies report data to FBI, body cams costs, police use of tech and the state of surveillance, Alabama ends open access to police records, Mary's Law in Florida hinders police transparency, will the low incarceration rate last, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Bipartisan police-overhaul talks end with no deal. lawmakers had sought to address abuses by law-enforcement after protests over killings of Black Americans  (Wall Street Journal) How is police use of force tracked in the Quad-Cities? That depends on the department.  (Quad City Times) Austin police weigh dispatching civilians, not officers to some nonemergency calls  (Austin American Statesman) Attorneys General in Three States Move to Increase Police Accountability  (TheCrimeReport.org) see al...

In 2019, we published an op-ed at the University of Florida Brechner Center Freedom of Information outlining the issues Marsy’s Law has caused in the collection of public crime information. Two years later, Marsy's Law in Florida continues to take its toll on police transparency. Many other states have implemented their own version of Marsy’s Law without creating problems related to police transparency now faced in Florida. It appears other states have found ways to discern between the intent of Marsy’s Law to protect victims rights to privacy, while also making sure the public has access to pertinent information related to crime, policing, and government transparency. Luckily since our op-ed, we have not run into any other notable police agencies using Marsy’s Law as a blanket exemption to releasing public crime blotter information. However, the original three agencies - Polk County Sheriff, Pasco County Sheriff, and Lake County Sheriff - are still not making crime blotter inform...