SpotCrime - The Public's Crime Map

Over policing in Durham, precision policing, blockchain and machine learning is future of crim-tech, Baylor crime reporting investigation, Google Docs phishing scam, police shootings, Harris County cash bail system unconstitutional, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Watch: Norfolk Police dance the night away at ‘Cops and Curls’ event (WTKR) Protesters seek end to 'over-policing' in Durham as chief delivers crime report (WRAL) What is Precision Policing? (SpotCrime) Officers Won’t Be Charged in Black Man’s Shooting Death in Louisiana (NYTimes) Balch Springs police fire Officer Roy Oliver, who fatally shot Jordan Edwards with rifle (Dallasnews.com) Ex-Officer Who Shot Walter Scott Pleads Guilty in Charleston (NYTimes) Law Enforcement Agencies' Requests for Facebook Data Continue to Rise (GovTech) CRIME RATE Protesters throw Pepsi cans at police during May Day demonstrations (TheGuardian.com) Half of Immigrants Arrested in ICE Raids Had Traffic

Unfortunately, we’ve run into a few issues with the recently unveiled open crime data feed in Durham, NC . Because of this, we’ve created a checklist to help agencies create an awesome open crime data feed.  Differences in data Most Popular datasets in Durham There are major differences between what Durham has chosen to display on its vendor’s site and what is displayed on the open data portal . We are not sure the reasoning behind delegating the money, resources, and time to create separate feeds or why the city chooses to give preferential access to information to a vendor rather than the public. Especially when it's the most popular data set on the open data portal. 1. Different feeds - If you compare the spreadsheet the vendor gets and the open data portal the public is required to use, you’ll see that the spreadsheet looks like a clear layman's form of the information while the public data set looks incredibly technical. 2. Different locations - The vendor

Over these past couple of weeks the Task Force on 21st Century Policing published a final report , and a White House Police Data Initiative was announced! We’ve been excited to see the results of police transparency and open data discussions by the White house. The Task Force on 21st Century Policing Final Report outlines 6 Pillars along with 59 recommendations for improvements to law enforcement. The Pillars include:  1. Building Trust and Legitimacy 2. Policy and Oversight 3. Technology and Social Media 4. Community Policing and Crime Reduction 5. Officer Training and Education 6. Officer Safety and Wellness.  The report concluded that  ‘Trust between law enforcement agencies and the people they protect and serve is essential in a democracy. It is key to the stability of our communities, the integrity of our criminal justice system, and the safe and effective delivery of policing services.’  We couldn’t agree more! The White House Police Data Initiative was

We’ve updated the SpotCrime Crime Data Transparency Ranking that was featured on GovTech early April 2015 . Let’s start with the good: Dallas, TX - We stand corrected! When the GovTech article was published, we had Dallas at a 1 ranking because their system went down and there was no data available for a while. However, by the time the GovTech article was published their system was up and running again, but we failed to update their ranking. After they reached out to express concern for their ranking we checked into things and rightfully moved them back to a 2! Albuquerque, NM - Moved from a 1 to a 2! ABQ is now OPEN for business! They began publishing an easy to digest feed. Our residents in Albuquerque have been pretty happy about the timely updates we’ve been able to make to their SpotCrime alerts. Pittsburgh, PA - Moved from a 1 to a 2! Pittsburgh began posting data in a machine readable format! Woohoo! Jacksonville, FL - Moved from a 1 to a 2 Jacksonville turned

These crime maps are of Durham from January to September of 2008. The first map is of all the crimes that took place during this time period and the second is of all the shootings. For more information and to see these crime maps on Spotcrime's website, go to: http://www.spotcrime.com/nc/durham . All crimes: Shootings: