SpotCrime - The Public's Crime Map

As our nation grapples with police violence and misconduct, transparency by law enforcement is critical now more than ever before. Failure to share data leads to mistrust, poor community relations and low accountability. In addition to a reduction to funding, new training and changes in law enforcement policies and procedures, production of a standard daily police blotter is another option that would improve transparency, allowing the public to better understand the crime in their community and ways police are responding. Recently, Congress passed the COVID–19 Hate Crimes Act , which requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to establish online hate crime reporting processes, collect data disaggregated by protected characteristics (e.g., race or national origin), and expand education campaigns. A second bill being considered, The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act , requires agencies to create a national registry—the National Police Misconduct Registry—to compile data on complaints an...

Feds fund mental health response teams, addressing the mental health of officers, reforming use of force practices, research showing body cams good investment, Houston chief focused on reforms and crime rate, Chicago sues gun store tied to 850 firearms involved in crimes, NYPD robot dog sent to the pound, Zoom court, and more... POLICE CONDUCT A former Georgia sheriff's deputy said he wanted to charge Black people with felonies to prevent them from voting, court documents show  (Business Insider) How Pa. troopers use sweating, stuttering during traffic stops to launch vehicle searches  (The Morning Call) Feds fund mental health crisis teams to stand in for police  (ABC News) see also:  “There Was No Plan in Place to Get Us Help”: Strategies for Improving Mental Health Service Utilization Among Law Enforcement  (Springer Link) St. Louis police group opposes move to cut 100-plus vacant officer positions  (St Louis Post Dispatch) US Department Of Education Now...

Arnold Ventures, a non-profit with focus on criminal justice reform, recently published the report “Because the Road to Reform is Paved by Data. CAMPAIGN FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE DATA MODERNIZATION” . The report notes that effective police reform relies on gathering data in order to effectively assess the criminal justice system and support reforms and restore public trust. SpotCrime is no stranger to navigating the bureaucratic and technical divide between police agencies when it comes to collecting public crime data on a national level. All police database infrastructures are made up of different systems, making it hard to collect data on a national level. The report makes 6 recommendations, that we’ve included below, and outlines a total of 36 action items for anyone willing to tackle this problem and make data collection across jurisdictional lines seamlessly easy. The report asks for the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) to act as the overarching power to enforce data standards and pr...

Gun violence and mass shootings, looking at violence prevention programs, police mental health, extremists and racism in police ranks, use of force, police conduct, license plate readers, drones, police data lacks in domestic violence and hate crimes, treating substance abuse, and more... POLICE CONDUCT In Chesterfield, assaults on police and use-of-force incidents increased in 2020  (Chesterfield Observer) Dallas Activists, Police Officers Work Together to Offer Opportunity to Young Black Men  (NBC DFW) 'That's a massive mistake.' Police chief sounds off on lack of regular psych help for officers  (WXYZ) Pushing for police reform: Local police chiefs weigh in on recruiting challenges  (WXYZ) Transphobia, hostility about protesters in private cop group  (AP) see also:  From Insult to Estrangement and Injury: The Violence of Racist Police Jokes  (Academia.edu) 'A nightmare scenario': Extremists in police ranks spark growing concern after Capitol riot ...

Police surveillance tech evolves, police overtime increases in some cities, getting evicted for calling 911, minimum wage hike had no effect on crime in Seattle, open government is good government, white supremacist propaganda high in some states, Asian-American hate crimes increase, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Racial gaps continue in St. Louis County police traffic stops, use of force, report says  (St Louis Post Dispatch) St. Louis County police tout success of partnership with city pushed by consulting firm  (St Louis Public Radio) More details needed in Jackson police chief’s crime plan, council members say  (WLBT) Why people are getting evicted for calling 911 One way cities are quietly circumventing due process and fair housing laws to evict renters.  (Vox) Boston police overtime is projected to be $15 million over budget for this fiscal year  (Boston Globe) see also:  San Jose audit: Police overtime skyrockets  (San Jose Spotlight) Home surveilla...

Date and time is important when displaying crime data publicly for obvious reasons - the public needs to know when a crime occurred to better inform themselves. Additionally, date and time is important for any type of crime analysis over time. There are dozens of different ways to display a date and time. Every police agency addresses this differently in their crime data feeds. For example, some agencies include date and time in the same data fields, others break them apart into separate fields. Some include time, some don’t. Some write out the month, others use numbers. Some make note of the time zone, others use Unix time. Representing time is sometimes a minor headache, but not a necessarily difficult task. The SpotCrime Open Crime data Standard (SOCS) specifically addresses the date/time issue in open crime data by specifying that date and time to be split into two different data fields. The ISO 8601 YYYY-MM-DD standard is to be used for date and the UTC and 24 hour to be used for...

Domestic violence increase linked to rise in violent crime, rising gun violence across US, body cams used for surveillance, banning facial recognition on the table, ethical AI, geofencing warrants may violate 4th amendment, rethinking 911, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Protests focus on over-policing. But under-policing is also deadly.  (WaPo) The “Camden Model” Is Not a Model. It’s an Obstacle to Real Change.  (Jacobin Mag) How Police Protect ‘White Spaces’ and Foster Segregated Housing  (TheCrimeReport.org) Military Presence Escalates Tension Among Public, Georgia State Criminologist Warns  (WABE) For meaningful reform, New York needs to catch up on crime data  (Washington Examiner) Dan Fagan: Bad police officers are a problem. But rising Louisiana crime is too.  (The Advocate) We Know How to Fix the Police. The data proves that regulating police behavior results in fewer killings of civilians.  (Reasonstobecheerful.com) Amazon Partnerships with Local L...

Police begin to change policies in order to secure budgets, facial recognition tech arrests wrong person, researchers denounce AI powered predictive policing, a call for body cam transparency, private companies selling your location data to law enforcement, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Chicago’s Peace Academy Graduates a New Class of Violence Interrupters  (The Trace) San Jose mayor releases nine-point police reform plan  (The Mercury News) see also:  Chief: '8 Can't Wait' already police policy  (The High Point Enterprise) and also:  Cincinnati Council To Vote On A Series Of Police Reforms  (WVXU) and  Colorado governor signs police accountability bill, ending qualified immunity defense in the state  (Efficient Gov) and finally:  3 Boston City Councilors Want To Divert Nonviolent 911 Calls From Police  (CBS Boston) 3 North Carolina police officers fired over racist rants  (Charlotte Observer) Transit agencies weigh security f...

One of the biggest drivers behind the current police reform demands in the US is police data . There are a myriad of police datasets available within a police department that paint a picture of the inner workings and behavior of its officers with the public. There are many different datasets circulating within a police agency. One of the least ‘sensitive’ data points (the lowest hanging fruit) is the data SpotCrime asks for from police agencies nationwide - Records Management System (RMS) data and Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD/911) data. This data has been around and released to the media and public for centuries . It includes what is known as a ‘crime blotter’ - a list of what and where crime occurs throughout the day within a police jurisdiction and what where and when police respond to the public’s calls for service. At SpotCrime we believe in and encourage police departments to embrace open crime data. ‘Open’ meaning the data is available in machine readable format (ex. API...

Looking at line of duty deaths, botched police raid, teleworking during COVID19, DOJ awards funding to fight violent crime, some cities still struggling with violent crime during pandemic, economic impact of open crime data, and more... POLICE CONDUCT COVID-19 Line-of-Duty Deaths  (Fraternal Order of Police) see also  National Police Week| Recognizes those Killed in Line-of-Duty  (Fox Baltimore) IMPD will have body cams by this summer, implement ‘use of force’ review board  (FOX 59) Media coverage of police misconduct and attitudes toward police  (Academia.edu) Woman shot and killed by Kentucky police in botched raid, family says  (NBC News) City Manager: Police Officers Teleworked in Case of ‘Much Worse’ COVID-19 Situation  (ALX Now) Portsmouth police chief stands up to push-back on budget demands  (Seacoast Online) Crypto Companies, Law Enforcement and Intelligence Firms Team Up to Fight Human Trafficking  (Coin Telegraph) Man repeatedly pu...

Questioning the ethics behind facial recognition software, addressing gun violence, data boosts trust in public safety, dangers of constantly monitored society, spike in sextortion scams, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Fewer calls has local law enforcement focused on community policing  (SkyHiNews) Pandemic-era policing: Fewer crimes, but signs of rising stress  (Public Source) Smart Policing for Safer Cities: A Data-Driven Approach  (TowardDataScience.com) Q&A: Cameras, Police, the Dangers of a Constantly Monitored Society  (Berkeley.edu) Indianapolis Police Officer Shoots Man in Livestreamed Killing. Here's What to Know  (Time) New State Data Show 97 Percent Drop in Backlogged Rape Kits  (BCTV.org) San Francisco police chief bans 'thin blue line' face masks  (ABC News) CRIME RATE Link found between early post office locations and modern crime rates  (Phys.org) Gun Violence Reduction Programs Struggle With Long-Term Success  (IdeaStream) see...