SpotCrime - The Public's Crime Map

Police data, expanding public safety workforce, tax increases to strengthen public safety, TN crime lab backlog, cyber crime economy, juvenile crime, US lowest murder rate, FBI collects non fatal shooting data, toll of lethal gun violence, using technology to solve crimes faster, facial recognition technology, NJ and police transparency, Minneapolis transparency, campus police secrecy at private colleges, America's aging prison population, and more... POLICE CONDUCT The Quiet Revolution. Why Data Became the Most Important Tool in the Field  (IACP Police Chief Magazine) Moss Point PD to lose chief, more than half its officers. Here’s why, and what’s next  (The Sun Herald) Expanding the Public Safety Workforce  (American Progress) Milwaukee Mayor’s Twin Public Safety Puzzles  (Governing) Des Moines City Council looks to tax increases to strengthen public safety response  (Waterland Blog) Tennessee crime lab at max capacity, backlog to grow without intervention: Re...

Police chief settlement transparency, police jurisdiction, police response times, domestic terrorism, undocumented immigrants and crime, DC crime rate, cashless bail, murders and homicides, serial killers, police cameras, police drones, police oversight, open data, crime data, transparency laws, gun crime, violent crime, household member incarceration effects, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Audit finds Charlotte lacked transparency in $305,000 police chief settlement  (MyFox8) How does US law enforcement work? Who has jurisdiction?  (USA Facts) Fresno Police response times range from minutes to hours, chief Casto vows change  (ABC30) DOJ Deletes Its Own Study From Website Showing ‘Far More’ Domestic Terrorism Committed by ‘Far-Right Extremists’  (The Guardian) CRIME RATE Public safety alliance launches Nashville crime stats dashboard  (The Tennessean) In Washington, the obvious thing is probably true  (The Economist) see also:  Prosecutors already have dro...

Military equipment usage, community engagement, FBI monthly crime data, data drive early intervention, license plate cameras, DC crime, police drones, police transparency, crime reduction, DC data dilemma, open crime data, youth confinement, prison, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Santa Ana Police Department addresses inefficiently reporting military equipment usage  (UC Irvine New University) Community wants answers after 5 Okemah Police officers were fired or resigned  (Fox23) UToledo Police Prioritize Campus Safety, Community Engagement  (UToledo.edu) CRIME RATE The 10 Do's and 500 Don'ts of the FBI's New Monthly Crime Data  (Jeff-alytics) Data-driven early intervention strategies could revolutionize Philly’s approach to crime prevention  (The Conversation) Shelby County officials urge TBI to audit MPD crime statistics  (ABC24) Bowser reports 'significant' drop in crime during federal surge, pushes for more MPD officers  (WUSA) see also:  What’s cri...

Police misconduct records, homicide and violent crime fall, explaining the murder decline, Ring and Citizen share video with police, Virginia Beach letting AI answer calls, AI chatbots writing crime reports, predictive policing, police transparency difficult for smaller NY agencies, police transparency, Oklahoma prisons harness AI, sending books behind bars, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Kissimmee Chief’s 1st 100 days lays groundwork for future transparency  (Osceola News Gazette) Ex-officer Brett Hankison sentenced to 33 months in prison in Breonna Taylor's death  (ABC News) Can NY police departments legally destroy their police misconduct records? Here's how  (Lohud) CRIME RATE Homicide, Other Violent Crimes Continue to Fall Below Pre-Pandemic Levels in U.S. Cities at Mid-Year  (Council on Criminal Justice) Why America is murdering less. How Baltimore explains America’s miraculous murder decline.  (Vox) The Spatial Distribution and Determinants of Fatal vs. Nonfa...

Union concerns, interacting with youth, civilian police review, public safety partnerships, falling crime, changes in retail crime, child grooming in London, homicides in the US, combating financial crime, license plate readers, gunshot detection, facial recognition, police drones, city wide security cameras, crime and transparency in California, citizen police academy, police chief investigation transparency, prison phone rates, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Vallejo City Council approves sheriff’s support contract despite deputy union concerns  (Vallejo Sun) Massachusetts Drafts New Rules for How Cops Interact With Youth  (Governing) see also:  Police cite youth programs for decrease in youth gun violence  (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution) 3 Nassau County deputies arrested after ‘double-dipping’ investigation; 2 sergeants turn themselves in  (News4Jax) Richmond civilian police review board delayed again  (VPM) Transforming Public Safety Through Partnerships:...

In 2025, the Baltimore Police Department updated its public crime data, switching from the old UCR Part I system to the more detailed NIBRS (National Incident-Based Reporting System) . The change was part of a national push for more comprehensive crime reporting. But in Baltimore’s case, one critical data point has effectively vanished from public view: shootings. In 2024, Shootings Were Easy to Find Even though “shooting” isn’t a standard UCR Part I crime type, Baltimore took the extra step of listing it as a distinct incident category in its 2024 public data feed. That decision gave residents, journalists, researchers, and advocates a powerful tool to track gun violence directly. No guesswork or complicated filtering required. It was a simple but effective act of transparency. But now it’s gone. In 2025, the Shooting Category Vanishes The 2025 NIBRS-format feed dropped the Shooting category, making it hard to track shootings. The public-facing feed no longer includes a clear way to ...

Honolulu police chief steps down, private security, new policing model in Wichita, police reform, civilian police review board, innovations in policing, police accountability boards, firearm data tracing, violent crime, ARPA violence reduction, AI, real time data fighting crime, high tech policing, cameras, police drone transparency, use of force database in Washington, 'Cop City' records released, felony data transparency, prison closure, bail reform, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Honolulu police chief steps down amid controversy over vacancy rate, recent shootings, transparency issues  (Hawaii News Now) Malibu hires private security to protect homes in fire zone from burglars after PCH reopens  (LA Times) New Wichita policing model aims to identify locations, not demographics, to lower gun crime  (KMUW) Police Reform: How To Fix A Watchdog That Will Barely Bark, Let Alone Bite  (Honolulu Civil Beat) see also:  As Virginia police reforms take hold, decertification...

Police reform efforts, DOJ dismisses investigations, police department staffing, police oversight commission, community policing boards, Take It Down Act signed into law, drug possession decriminalization, cracking down on fare jumpers, crime rates, violence during COVID-19, real-time facial recognition, crime algorithms, FOIL reform effort, Alabama prison litigation, AI in court filings, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Minneapolis makes history with civilian hires in police reform effort  (KARE11) Inclusion, transparency, trust top priorities for new Santa Maria police chief Christopher Williams  (Santa Maria Times) Trump DOJ dismisses investigations of police in several cities, including Minneapolis  (WGLT) Big Police Departments Have Stopped Shrinking. But they aren't growing, for the most part.  (Jeff-alytics) Citizens Police Oversight Commission Names Civil Rights Attorney Ewuare Osayande as Deputy Executive Director  (City of Philadelphia) Olympia opens applica...

Medical professionals to help 911, Detroit police complaint backlog, limiting police accountability in Austin, non-consensual intimate imagery, DOJ rescinds grants, high tech policing, murder rate, gun violence, firearm involved expulsions, policing and social media, AI to enhance emergency response, Columbus crime report portal offline, FOIA exemptions, police dashboards, open crime data, police transparency, prisoner release, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Police Chief In Catawba County Indicted On Charge Of Altering, Stealing Or Destroying Evidence In Murder Case  (WHKY) Louisville mayor proposes new money for medical professionals to help 911 call center  (WDRB) Detroit police complaint backlog grows despite efforts to bolster closure rates  (Bridge Detroit) Kissimmee's new police chief emphasizes community trust and transparency  (WESH) Two bills could limit police accountability in Austin, as legislative session nears end  (CBS Austin) CRIME RATE Distributing ...

Mental health responders, radio encryption, child exploitation, fatal and nonfatal shootings comparisons, Mexico City crime, EverShot, gun violence, Dallas response times, DOJ report on AI, AI or non-emergency calls, police military equipment, Charlotte schools withhold sexual assault data, data in criminal justice, and more... POLICE CONDUCT As state slashes mental health funding, Tulsa adds 911 clinicians to divert crisis calls  (Public Radio Tulsa) Police scanners in Minneapolis fall silent as MPD encrypts radio traffic  (MPR News) CRIME RATE Child sexual exploitation and abuse is a multibillion-dollar industry – new report shows who benefits  (The Conversation) Leveraging the National Incident-based Reporting System to compare fatal and nonfatal shooting incidents  (Taylor & Francis Online) see also:  EveryShot is a publicly available data tool that tracks gun violence incidents in the United States using AI to parse news stories about gun violence. ...

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...