SpotCrime - The Public's Crime Map

Replacing suspect faces with Lego heads, police staffing shortages, stricter policies on pursuits and drugs, stiffer sentences for AI related white collar crime, proactive policing sent searches soaring, FBI data shows crime dropped in 2023, Chinese organized crime dominating US illegal marijuana market, fentanyl epidemic getting worse, Kentucky crime data, school hate crimes, teacher misconduct, AI and LLM can help police, AI tech fighting retail crime, addressing non-consensual deepfake pornography, closed public records on crime in South Dakota, police transparency and the public's right to know, video tech to improve criminal justice, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Why a California police department is replacing suspects’ faces with Lego heads  (The Hill) South Bend Police take an 'aggressive stance' in getting weapons and drugs off the streets  (South Bend Tribune) see also:  Michigan State Police implements stricter policy on pursuits, chases  (Click On Detroit) Balancing

Police raid at wrong house leaves baby injured, neck restraints, roadside drug tests result in wrongful arrests, Operation Ceasefire in Oakland, public cameras for video evidence, police scanners to go dark, no more floppy discs for police records in Holyoke, non-lethal police weapons, AR FOIA exemption for police, AL prison returns bodies missing organs, and more... POLICE CONDUCT 'It's the wrong house': Audio of Ohio police raid that left a baby injured raises new questions  (NBC News) Neck-restraint bans, law enforcement officer unions, and police killings  (Wiley Online Library) Study Estimates Roadside Drug Tests Result in 30,000 Wrongful Arrests Every Year  (reason) CRIME RATE Oakland seeks to resurrect Operation Ceasefire after new audit links its end to rising crime  (ABC 7) Residential addiction treatment for U.S. teens is scarce and expensive, OHSU-led study finds  (Oregon Capital Chronicle) Pittsburgh’s new police records system will help federal agencies better

Trauma and empathy training, body cams, mental health calls, smash and grab, school violence and arrests, where gun violence is surging, cameras to reduce crimes, Marsy's Law doesn't apply to police officers, police records transparency, prison conditions, First Step Act, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Baltimore’s new approach to police training looks at the effects of trauma, importance of empathy  (Courthouse News Service) How Police Have Undermined the Promise of Body Cameras  (PorPublica) Starting in January, non-law enforcement team can respond to mental health crisis calls  (ABC30) Stark County Sheriff's Office rolls out new program to improve staff performance and community relations  (News 5 Cleveland) CRIME RATE ‘Smash-and-grab’ robberies fuel new laws, but critics question the need  (SW Iowa News) see also:  Member of Congress calls for better data on organized retail crime and other theft  (Retail Dive) 185 weapons, seven guns reported at Wake County high schools, re

Recruitment and retention, responses to active shooters, reducing mental health calls, officer involved shootings, 911 call prioritization, problems with FBI crime data, violent crime reduction, gaining access to Google data, juvenile crime, access to public records deteriorating, investing in data, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Justice Department Releases Report on Recommendations for Law Enforcement Agencies Facing Recruitment and Retention Challenges  (DOJ) Baltimore County to use millions of dollars to clear decades-old sexual assault evidence  (Baltimore Banner) New ‘first-in-the-nation’ policy limits Seattle police from knowingly lying  (MyNorthwest.com) Wait for backup or not? How police officers view their role when responding to an active shooter event  (Springer Link) Bloomington looks to reduce police mental health calls with no-cost therapy program  (CBS News Minnesota) A closer look into the civilian majority use of force board that evaluates IMPD officer-involved shootings  

Police contract negotiations, false ticket scandal, police seizures, cash bail, fentanyl, FBI crime data, active shooter, teen curfews, AI to answer calls, real-time crime centers, police records fees, limiting FOIA, investigation into TX prisoner deaths, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Minneapolis city attorney launches probe into source of KSTP story on MPD chief  (KSTP) Yale police union distributes flyers alleging a crime-ridden New Haven during contract negotiations  (Yale Daily News) CT State Police false ticket scandal could jeopardize prosecution of criminal cases  (The Register Citizen) Report: $25.3 million seized by Kansas law enforcement between 2019 and 2022  (WIBW) CRIME RATE Students criticize the University of North Carolina's response to an active shooter emergency  (NBC Washington) Welcome To Crime Data Fall. You've heard of Hot Girl Summer, now the crime data craze is sweeping the land!  (Jeff-alytics) Is Cash Bail Reform Working? Behind the Controversy  (The Wash

FBI crime data reporting lacking, estimation procedures for missing FBI data, understanding policing in America, civilian policing, Clery Act compliance, Biden's Safer America Plan, storage for body cams, FOIA enforcer, the Visiting Room Project in prison, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Johns Hopkins wants to change policing. Many fear it won’t work.  (The Washington Post) New policy, tracking system aids Clery Act compliance  (The University Record) See If Police in Your State Reported Crime Data to the FBI There are growing gaps in U.S. crime stats. Use our tables to check on your state and local agencies.  (The Marshall Project) and also:  Accurate U.S. Crime Data Demands More State Participation  (NextGov) Estimation Procedures for Crimes in the United States Based on NIBRS Data  (FBI)  Understanding Policing in America: How Neighborhood and Individual Characteristics Influence Experiences with Police and Perspectives of Policing  (The Data Foundation) The acquisition of legitimacy

Use of force, mental health calls, intelligence-led policing, police use of force and race, crime rate, overdose death data, body cam tech, criminal justice data, voting rights, filming police, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Kentucky sheriff honors prisoner who pulled people from rubble of collapsed candle factory  (CNN) How police say they're changing to not be seen as the ‘easy button,' answer to all calls  (Lansing State Journal) see also:  'The mental health system is broken:' Mental health calls strain Lynchburg police  (WSET) Salt Lake City officers used more force in 2021 — but less than expected, department report finds  (Salt Lake Tribune) Lawsuit alleges Pasco sheriff’s ‘intelligence-led policing’ violates civil rights  (WFLA) Arizona HB 2319 would make it illegal to film police within 15 feet  (NPPA) Does Race Matter for Police Use of Force? Evidence from 911 Calls  (American Economic Association) Ontario replacing three Ottawa police board members after one atte

Crime statistics influence police strategy, firearms leading cause of life lost, Stand Your Ground laws linked to increase in homicides, gun violence declared public health crisis, AI help with 911 staffing shortages, Maine law enforcement FOIA audit, criminal justice fee's trap people in poverty, Utah's clean slate law, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Phoenix police release bodycam footage of officer 'ambushed' by shooter  (AZ Central) 2 JP deputies arrested on manslaughter counts in shooting that left man dead  (WWLTV) Former St. Tammany Sheriff Jack Strain gets 4 life sentences in rape, incest case  (KNOE) Colorado could become 3rd state to ban police from lying to kids during interrogations  (Oregon Live) Michigan City crime statistics will influence police strategy  (NWI Times) CRIME RATE Firearms: the leading cause of years of potential life lost  (BMJ Journals)   ‘Stand Your Ground’ Laws Linked to Increase in Homicides  (TheCrimeReport) More accurately capturing data

Hot spot policing, police accountability board, no knock warrants, gun violence, fighting drug related crime and overdoses, human trafficking, surveillance drones, body cams, mandatory sentences, FOIA watchlists, juvenile court fees, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Mayor Harrell announces ‘hot spot’ patrol crime initiative, push to rewrite local gun laws  (MyNorthWest.com) Salt Lake City officers are responding faster to critical 911 calls, police data shows  (Salt Lake Tribune) Minneapolis Suspends No-Knock Warrants After Police Killing  (The New York Times) Opinion: Police Accountability Board Mandate Could Be an Opportunity  (Maryland Matters) Mother's desperate search for answers in son's death earns rare victory against police  (NBC News) CRIME RATE What the data says about gun deaths in the U.S.  (Pew Research Center) see also:  ‘It’s gotten out of control because now there’s no accountability.’ Ealum breaks down gun crime data  (Owensboro Times) and also:  Drops in St. Louis

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 also:  What the r

The pandemic crime rate, cyberattacks on the rise, big tech gets help from police to collect data on residents, data helps address wildlife crime, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Denver Police study crime trends from the last recession to prepare for the current economic climate  (9News) Denton Police Get Creative With Public Safety in COVID-19 World  (NBC DFW) Stop calling 911 to report social distancing violations, cops across the US say  (Charlotte Observer) LMPD policies on 'no-knock' warrants, body cams change amid outcry over Breonna Taylor death  (WLKY) CRIME RATE How the pandemic upended crime patterns  (City Metric) Amid pandemic, crime dropped in many U.S. cities, but not all  (Washington Post) New research analyzes 40+ years of Alaska homicide data for first time, providing unprecedented look at homicides in the state since 1976  (Anchorage Press) Gun crimes and gun deaths at highest levels in a decade  (NZHerald) Why arrests plummeted during New York’s COVID-19 peak  (Ci

Below is our paper that was recently published in The American Society of Criminology's  newsletter The Criminologist . The American Society of Criminology (ASC) is an international organization whose members pursue scholarly, scientific and professional knowledge concerning the measurement, etiology, consequences, prevention, control, and treatment of crime and delinquency. ASC publications consist of the following: the journals, Criminology and Criminology & Public Policy , and the newsletter, The Criminologist . Check out our article on page 7 of their most recent newsletter or read it below. A Call for Researchers to Embrace Robust, Open Crime Data Access to accurate and timely data on crime is important for any city wanting to uphold and improve policing. Unfortunately, although such data is increasingly being collected by cities, access to it is increasingly being restricted by private companies or by cities themselves, making it difficult if not impossible for r

SpotCrime has been asked to submit testimony on an upcoming Kansas Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) hearing that will be discussing changes to the current FOIA laws, bringing transparency in Kansas into the 21st century. You can read the testimony we submitted below. This is not our first time providing testimony on access to public information. In 2014, we were asked to provide oral and written testimony on the Maryland Open Data Bill (SB644) . The data SpotCrime collects is public information, so if a police agency is not already openly releasing the data publicly to their website or they don't have some sort of public blotter, we are sometimes directed to submit a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain the information. This has allowed SpotCrime to provide an invaluable case study on how transparency and public access laws are being applied at the the local level. We've found that after we submit the same request to local jurisdictions, each police agency ha