SpotCrime - The Public's Crime Map

In recent years, the transition from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) system to the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) has been hailed as a major upgrade in crime data collection. NIBRS offers more granular, detailed reporting compared to UCR’s summary-based approach. But while the benefits sound promising on paper, in practice we’re seeing a troubling side effect: timely, block level incident crime data is slowing down—or disappearing entirely—from public view and access. Is NIBRS to Blame? The NIBRS transition is not the only factor, but it's a significant one. Unlike UCR, which focused on counting major offenses, NIBRS demands more detail and structure. That means departments must invest in costly software upgrades, retrain staff, and restructure internal workflows. These changes introduce delays—and in some cases, departments decide it's easier to stop releasing data altogether rather than deal with the complexity. Adding to the issue is that many of th...

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 p...

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...

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...

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...