SpotCrime - The Public's Crime Map

Kentucky crime stats undercounted homicides, enhancing the effectiveness of law enforcement mental health, Utah County's domestic violence shelter short on space, homicide rate declines, CA red flag law, Berkeley considering license plate readers, OH Marsy's law limits public right to know, Dallas restores open data feed after ransomware attack, choosing a correctional officer position, and more... POLICE CONDUCT D.C. Offering Free Software Upgrades For Hyundai Owners At RFK Stadium This Week  (DCist.com) Report: Kentucky Crime Statistics Undercounted 2022 Homicides in the State's Most Populous County  (US News) Chicago Spent $126.5M on Police Overtime in 6 Months, an Almost 50% Jump Over Last Year: Records  (WTTW) Mental Health Providers and Peers Help Enhance the Effectiveness of Law Enforcement Mental Health Interventions  (Springer Link) see also:  Miami-Dade police chief offered resignation before suicide attempt on Florida highway, mayor says  (NBC News) New report su

Secrecy in the criminal justice system, destroying misconduct files, response teams for sexual assault, FBI data useless, crime task force, data use in criminal investigations, drone mounted Apple watch for gunshot detection, Marsy's Law keeps police names secret in deadly shootings, body cam video transparency, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Sheriff’s Office Has Been Destroying Records Of Alleged Officer Misconduct For Years  (TheCrimeReport.org) TN lawmaker introduces bill to require law enforcement to create response teams for sexual assault cases  (WBIR) The Town Manager in Matthews exposes police brass for fudging reports on crime statistics  (WBT) Report: Arrest rates in San Diego County hit seven-year low in 2021  (The San Diego Union Tribune) The FBI’s 2021 Hate Crime Data Is Worse Than Meaningless  (Lawfare Blog) CRIME RATE Hampton Roads had more than 200 homicides last year. Police solved less than half the killings.  (Daily Press) What Does Research Say About Gun Policies Th

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 Uvalde shooting  (R

Mary's law in FL hides crime data and police use of force, collecting gun violence data, police installing cameras and license plate readers on roads, the facial recognition debate, using algorithms in the justice system, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Cold but not forgotten: how a retired officer is helping solve dormant investigations  (KTVL News10) Santa Clara County clears rape kit backlog, says it has sped up processing  (The Mercury News) Police say clearance data tells more about crime incidents in Sioux Falls  (KELOLand.com) ‘It’s lunacy’: Pa. cops still busting plenty of people for pot despite de-criminalization, report says  (Pennlive.com) CRIME RATE Thirty Most Violent Cities Based On Crime Rate-2018-USDOJ  (CrimeInAmerica.net) Surge in Minnesota drug seizures reflects influence of cartels  (Star Tribune) Washington: Bill would create office to collect firearm violence data  (The Lewiston Tribune) Number of Idaho childhood sexual abuse cases at a 30-year hi

It has now been months since Sheriff Grady Judd turned off the crime blotter for the public. And we are still scratching our heads.  We can estimate that at least 4,000 crimes have occurred since then. Burglaries, robberies, thefts, shootings, arsons, and home invasions are now invisible to the public.  Why would any police agency reduce transparency? In the twelve years that I have been reaching out to police agencies, I have never seen an agency get operationally better by hiding information from the public. Not sharing crime data publicly reduces transparency and retards accountability. Almost every major agency in Florida provides data to the public. Sheriff Judd is one of the exceptions. Removal of public access to crime information significantly reduces the public’s perception of the difficult daily work Polk County Sheriff’s deputies face responding to everyday crimes. Currently, only the showboat busts that the Sheriff uses to promote himself are being made public. 

Below is the press release in which Marsy’s Law for Florida explains that its position is that Marsy’s Law does not justify delays in releasing information on the details of a crime, including general location information. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 17, 2019 CONTACT: Jennifer Fennell, CoreMessage (850) 222-3767, marsyslawfl@coremessage.com Marsy’s Law for Florida Clarifies Law’s Intention Following Ft. Myers News Story TALLAHASSEE – Marsy’s Law for Florida is clarifying the intention of new constitutional language providing crime victims’ rights following a news story this week in Ft. Myers. According to WINK News, the Ft. Myers Police Department is declining to release details on a home invasion and is citing Marsy’s Law for Florida as the reason they are withholding this information. Marsy’s Law for Florida states that victims have the right to prevent the public disclosure of any information that could be used to locate or harass them, such as their names. There are no provisi