SpotCrime - The Public's Crime Map

Hate crime task force launched, Sheriffs' elections, police misconduct records, police oversight committee, FBI crime stats, crime rate, perception of crime, border security, progressive prosecution policies, police drones, AI to detect weapons, AI and facial recognition, AI to detect fraud, gunshot detection, juvenile detention center, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Central Florida Hate Crime Task Force launches after $1M grant from Justice Department  (WFTV) Austin Police contract is signed with 90% approval from the police union and city council  (CBS Austin) Valdosta State University Police Chief resigns following third-party investigation  (WTXL) Why Sheriffs’ Elections Matter From immigration enforcement to abortion access, sheriffs wield a surprising amount of power in their jurisdictions.  (The Marshall Project) Pittsburgh’s police chief puts down his badge for a referee’s whistle  (Associated Press) Can Police Departments Be Trusted to Release Their Own Mis...

Mental health emergency response, safe gun storage and minimum age laws, domestic violence awareness, criminal charges over pregnancy, reimagining Chicago's public safety, surveillance cameras, AI in policing, facial recognition, deactivated bodycams, new homicide county dashboard, progressive prosecutors, and more... POLICE CONDUCT City Removing Police And Fire Departments From Mental Health Emergency Response Program  (Block Club Chicago) New Des Moines police chief finalists announced  (KCCI) New Austin police contract worries some city council members  (FOX7 Austin) CRIME RATE Safe storage and minimum age gun laws would curb violence, study says  (Stateline.org) UMich study finds rising firearm mortality rates among youth in most states  (The Michigan Daily) Nearly Nine out of 10 Women Murdered by Men are Killed by Someone They Know and Two Thirds Die by Gunfire, New Violence Policy Center Study Finds  (Violence Policy Center) see also:  Toward a B...

Feds award police funding in CT, police service requests via text, police mental health, shoplifting trends, deciphering federal crime data trends, Baltimore homicides dip, Cop Con tech, public access to police radio traffic, Clery Reporting, restorative justice, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Feds award $8.8 million in police funding to Connecticut, municipalities  (Inside Investigator) Community can now receive Santa Monica Police service request updates on their phone  (SantaMonica.gov) In one 24-hour period, 4 LA county sheriff employees died by suicide: What we know so far   If you or someone you know needs mental health support, contact the national Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988  (USA Today) CRIME RATE Shoplifting Trends: What You Need to Know  (Council on Criminal Justice) New Data Shows Violent Crime Is Up… And Also Down. Property crime and violence against young people are both up, recent federal data shows, but other crime trends are murkier...

Strongly policed cities and hot spot policing, states that don't report crime to the FBI, statewide minimums for police pursuits, school lockdowns assessment, residents participate in crime commission forum, public genealogy data to identify criminals, facial recognition leads to wrongful arrest, reliable police data and research needed now more than ever, recidivism rates, and more... POLICE CONDUCT London experience suggests strongly policed cities don’t always benefit from hot-spot approach  (Policing Insight) Federal appeals court rules against former police officer fired for Facebook post  (The Free Speech Center) States That Don't Report Crime to the FBI  (24/7 Wall St) New Indiana policy sets statewide minimum for police pursuits  (Fox59) CRIME RATE Can School Lockdowns Save Lives? An Assessment of Drills and Use in Real-World Events  (Taylor and Francis Online) NYC leaders acknowledge 22% increase in overall crime, while pointing to signs of progress ...

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 Founda...

FBI crime data collection still stymied, calls mount to block warrantless data collection by police, FBI failed to complete 1M gun background checks, 'systemic failures' in Uvalde, looking at the crime wave, mental health may not prevent mass shootings, kids and guns, ShotSpotter tech under fire, predicting crime with AI, Marsy's Law in FL, commercial bail industry, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Boulder police chief recognized for evidence-based policing  (Daily Camera) FBI’s Crime Data Collection Still Being Stymied By Major Police Departments Not Reporting Crime Stats  (TechDirt) Calls Mount for Blocking Warrantless Mass Data Collection  (GovTech) see also:  Amazon Ring Records Given Directly to Police in Emergencies  (Bloomberg Law) How to Defuse Police-Civilian Encounters  (TheCrimeReport.org) FBI Failed to Complete Nearly 1M Gun Background Checks in 2020-2021  (TheCrimeReport.org) Report finds 'systemic failures,' poor leadership in response to Uvald...

FBI crime data mess, co-responder pilot program, police resignations, Flint puts more police on the streets, stolen guns increases, firearm related violence skyrockets, crime rate, Detroit reports decrease in crime, regional data center in Hampton Roads, well-being in prison, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Delaware Attorney General asks for a federal investigation after lacrosse team bus stop and search  (WTOC) see also:  Body camera footage contradicts sheriff's account of how deputies acted on Delaware State lacrosse bus  (MSN) Pritzker signs slate of public safety bills into law in Peoria, including co-responder pilot program  (WCBU) Mental Models: A Method for Attacking any Policing Problem  (Justice Clearing House) Evanston Police Department had an increased level of resignations in 2021. Here’s what the future looks like  (The Daily Northwestern) Alabama Police Chief Sued Over His Response To Anti-Police Brutality Protests  (TechDirt) Flint police ho...

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 ...

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...

Media coverage of gun violence, can crime be predicted with AI and machine learning, lack of facial recognition laws, SpotCrime's FOIA testimony, open data to transform and engage communities, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Beyond crime rates and community surveys: a new approach to police accountability and performance measurement  (Crime Science Journal) IRS Claims to Have Identified “Dozens” of New Crypto Criminals  (Inside Bitcoins) Detailed look into Winston-Salem Police Department’s need for gunfire detection system  (MyFox8) Can We Trust the FBI's Crime Estimation Procedures?  (Academia.edu) Lessons to learn from a school resource officer  (PressHerald) Portland police chief walks out of meeting as school board asks for more time on body camera issue  (PressHerald) CRIME RATE Bias, Sensationalism Distort Media Coverage of Gun Violence, Conference Told  (TheCrimeReport) Chicago gun violence, drug cartel mayhem fueled by straw purcha...

2017 NIBRS FBI data released, shootings are contagious?, Atlanta turns ex-cons into farmers, using crime data to make safer cities, police property seizures scrutinized, and more... POLICE CONDUCT 2017 NIBRS Crime Data Released. Law Enforcement Continuing Transition to More Detailed Reporting System  (FBI) Rockford Police scores high marks during audit  (rrstar.com) SPD Chief Ben Raymond wants more communication with victims' families  (KSLA12) ACLU: N.J. police unfairly taking cash, property from criminal suspects  (WHYY.org) see also:  Texas police made more than $50 million in 2017 from seizing people’s property. Not everyone was guilty of a crime.  (Texas Tribune) CRIME RATE Shootings are contagious: Prosecutors study King County gun violence from a public-health angle  (Seattle Times) Criminally Insane in Oregon Attack Twice as Many People Than Previously Known, New Data Shows  (ProPublica) Spotify Ditches Market Street Office...

Jeff Sessions gets it wrong (again), AI and machine learning in policing, 2016 NIBRS data released, data on police shootings, the opioid crisis, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Research Shows Police Body-Worn Cameras Reduce Misconduct and Cost for Las Vegas (GovTech) Data on both fatal and nonfatal police shootings from the 50 largest local police departments in the United States (Vice) Autopsy Doctor Resigns, Says Sheriff Overrode Death Findings to Protect Officers (KQED) CRIME RATE 2016 NIBRS crime data released (FBI) Jeff Sessions misrepresented crime statistics from his own department's report  (NewsWeek) How we win the opioid war: Report (TheCrimeReport) See also:  NIJ Report: Opioid Crisis Is a Driver of Homicide Boom (Washington Free Beacon) CMPD, prosecutors call domestic violence an 'epidemic' (WBTV) Why is internet gambling a crime? (TheCrimeReport) Mass shootings aren't more frequent, but they are deadlier: Study (NBC Chicago...

NIBRS data 2016 NIBRS data was released this week. The data is available directly here on the FBI’s website . NOte that NIBRS is different than UCR. 2016 UCR data was released about a month ago. A lot of agencies are making the migration of UCR to NIBRS. We took a stab defining the difference between UCR and NIBRS a couple of years ago.   Check it out in a blog post here. Of the reported NIBRS offenses , 22.7% were crimes against persons, 14.8% were crimes against society, and 62.5% were crimes against property. More than half (52.4%) of the victims knew their offenders, but did not have a familial relationship to them. Nearly one quarter (24.3%) of the victims were related to their offenders. There’s an  array of information  included in the reports. You should check it out if you have time. For the purpose of this post, we took a deeper look at the data on offenses related to weapons. Overview of weapons data Each crime incident that involves a w...