LAPD’s Open Crime Data Crisis: A Step Backward for Transparency
Los Angeles, one of the largest cities in the U.S., has long provided public access to crime data through its open data portal. However, a troubling shift has been unfolding, raising serious concerns about transparency, public safety awareness, and accountability. The LAPD’s transition to a new Records Management System (RMS) and the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) has resulted in significant gaps in crime data reporting, with updates becoming increasingly sporadic or ceasing altogether.
The Problem: Crime Data No Longer Updating Regularly
Historically, LAPD updated its crime data feed on a weekly basis but changed to biweekly updates in early 2024. However, as of early 2025, the department appears to have stopped updating its primary dataset entirely. The most recent available crime data from the “Crime Data from 2020 to Present” dataset stopped at December 30, 2024, but has since resumed biweekly updates. However, these updates now contain only a few incidents per day, as LAPD has stated that only incidents recorded in the old system are being published in this feed. Meanwhile, all new incidents are expected to be moved to the NIBRS dataset, which has not been updated since October 2024 and does not include block-level addresses.
This lack of updates has led to major blind spots in crime tracking for residents, journalists, researchers, and SpotCrime.
Drastic Drop in Reported Incidents
An even more alarming issue is that the number of reported crimes in LAPD’s biweekly updated open data feed has plummeted. In 2024, LAPD consistently reported around 200 crime incidents per day. In 2025, some days show fewer than 10 incidents. The drastic reduction is a direct result of the transition, with only incidents recorded in the old system appearing in the dataset while newer incidents are meant to be included in the NIBRS dataset, which has not been updated since October 2024.
As a result, there is no way to get a comprehensive picture of crime in Los Angeles—one dataset is updating but with only a few incidents per day, while the other remains outdated and lacks crucial location details.
Loss of Address-Level Data: A Step Backward
The new NIBRS dataset also removes block-level address data, which was previously available in LAPD’s crime data. This significantly impacts transparency and makes it nearly impossible to map crime trends accurately or even distinguish where in the city a crime occurred. Address-level data allows residents, journalists, and crime analysts to understand where crime is occurring, spot patterns, and take necessary precautions. By stripping this level of detail, LAPD is effectively reducing public access to crucial safety information.
LAPD’s Response: No Clear Timeline for Fixes
Emails to LAPD officials, city council members, and the mayor’s office have so far resulted in vague responses. While LAPD acknowledges they are still "building the mechanism" to update the NIBRS dataset, they have not provided a timeline for when regular updates will resume. This lack of clarity leaves the public in the dark about when (or if) the data flow will be restored.
Why This Matters
Public crime data is essential for accountability. It allows:
Journalists to report on crime trends and hold law enforcement accountable.
Residents to stay informed and make safety decisions.
Researchers and policymakers to analyze trends and allocate resources effectively.
Crime mapping services like SpotCrime to provide timely alerts and insights to communities.
By delaying updates, removing critical location details, and failing to provide a timeline for resolution, LAPD is effectively undermining transparency and public trust.
What Needs to Happen?
Los Angeles city officials and the LAPD must take immediate action to restore transparency. Specifically, LAPD should:
Resume regular updates to crime data, ideally in real-time or at least weekly.
Provide a clear timeline for when updates to the NIBRS dataset will be operational.
Restore block-level address data to allow meaningful crime analysis.
Commit to transparency in all crime reporting processes.
A Troubling Pattern: Chief McDonnell and Crime Data Transparency
The current LAPD Chief McDonnell was previously the Sheriff of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department (LASD) in 2018. In February 2018, LASD turned off their open crime data feed, which had been updating daily for nearly a decade. The Sheriff's Department stated that the daily feed would be replaced with a monthly feed to be more 'accurate.' This decision would have delayed crime data availability by an average of 45 days—reducing the public’s access to timely crime information by a factor of 30. SpotCrime notified its users and County officials, and even filed a complaint against Sheriff McDonnell. By late April 2018, the feed was restored.
Now, with Chief McDonnell overseeing LAPD, a similar issue with crime data accessibility is unfolding, raising serious concerns about his leadership’s approach to public transparency.
Final Thoughts
LAPD’s current handling of crime data is a serious step backward for public safety and government accountability. At a time when access to data is more important than ever, withholding crime information from the public is unacceptable. If Los Angeles wants to uphold its reputation as a forward-thinking city, it must prioritize open, timely, and detailed crime data reporting.
The public deserves better. It’s time for LAPD to fix this.
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