SpotCrime - The Public's Crime Map

Facebook uses police bodycam footage to train AI, violent crime increases in the US, bigger cities mean more social crimes, fitness tech data collection has crime solving capabilities, coloring books banned in prison, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Cops snatch man out of the air as he jumps from bridge, Tennessee video shows  (The News Tribune) Legal expert calls lack of data from public safety agencies in Baltimore, "crazy"  (FoxBaltimore) Data analysis helps sheriff fight crime  (The Daily Sentinel) A police dog in Florida can sniff out child porn. He’s looking for a chemical scent  (Miami Herald) CRIME RATE Serious Violent Crime Increases-Crime Reported To Police Decrease  (CrimeInAmerica.net) Study: Bigger cities boost ‘social crimes’  (Newswise) Do Cash Rewards For Crime Tips Work?  (OPB) How Adverse Childhood Experiences Cost $1.33 Trillion a Year Research takes a deep dive into large-scale impact of harm to children  (Psycholo...

Different views on criminal justice reform, how red flag laws and background checks for gun purchases work, NYPD suicide rate and trust in the system, and more... POLICE CONDUCT After Officer's Firing, Wary Members of NYPD Say No One Has Their Backs  (Governing) see also:  Police officer kills himself, the 9th NYPD death by suicide this year  (USA Today) Dunwoody police force improves training on mental illness  (AJC) Remember The Surveillance Plane That Flew Over Baltimore? It Could Fly Again  (CBS Baltimore) IRS using Data Analytics to Uncover Criminal Arrangements  (JDSUPRA) Palm Beach Police Dept. has the highest arrest rate in Florida, but what does that actually mean? Days after Carroll County sheriff calls Walmart security ‘poor,’ company officials to meet with police leaders  (Capital Gazette) CRIME RATE How background checks and ‘red flag’ gun laws work  (PBS) Louisiana Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Wants to Roll Ba...

Facial recognition use by police agencies debated, crime prediction software ineffective, more cities want camera and license plate reader networks, violent crime in St Louis, Kansas City teens fed up with crime, and more... POLICE CONDUCT California DOJ Data Shows Drop In Police Uses Of Force In 2018  (Witness LA) Police dropping 'crime prediction' software… because it's ineffective, not because it's Orwellian  (RT.com) see also:  LAPD pioneered predicting crime with data. Many police don’t think it works  (LA Times) Top 100 Cities for Police Officers  (Safety.com) 8 reasons you may need to leave your departmentThere are many factors other than pay that determine whether an officer chooses to stay with or leave an agency  (PoliceOne.com) Coast Guard crewman jumps onto moving submarine full of drugs  (TODAY) Grand Jury investigates Fresno Police Department for long wait times on 911 calls  (KMPH) 'Something we're not proud of': Fire...

PredPol program shut down in some cities but kept on in others, civilian oversight of police agencies debated, gun laws and mass shootings connected, connection between poverty and crime, Shotspotter pros and cons, prison reform, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Bodycam shows officers save man from burning car seconds before it explodes  (ABC30) LAPD to change crime data program as activists tell Police Commission to ‘shut it down’  (LA Times) see also:  Eight years in, LAPD can’t measure PredPol’s effect on crime  (MuckRock) and also:  Audit Finds LAPD Predictive Policing Programs Lack Oversight  (Courthouse News) and:  Baltimore set to renew contract with predictive policing group, citing violence declines in targeted areas  (Baltimore Sun) and finally:  Bay Area police try out controversial AI software that tells them where to patrol  (Mercury News) 5 examples of how evidence-based policing enhances law enforcement  (Police...

Legal marijuana crime stats, centralized police databases, AI predictive policing is bad policy, VA police uses bitcoin in pension fund, violent crime spikes in cities who worked with DOJ, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Are Cops Afraid To Make Arrests?  (CrimeInAmerica.net) Sweet footage shows Virginia police officer entertain children with dolls after emergency call  (AOL) Pa. taxpayers continue funding state troopers in towns without cops after years of capitol debate  (WITF) Dramatic body cam video shows desperate effort to save woman from burning house in Oskaloosa County  (Fox10) Virginia Police Department Reveals Why its Pension Fund is Betting on Bitcoin  (CNN) CRIME RATE Violent crime skyrockets in cities who work with fed to curb police shootings  (KOAT) As North Dakota’s oil patch surged, so did violent crime  (TwinCities.com) A New Study Disproves Long-Held Beliefs on Both Sides of Cannabis Debate  (Inverse) see also:...

Community policing focus for agencies, deciphering PredPol through it's manual, Orlando's round two of facial recognition, Milwaukee ACLU ruling, health data and crime relationship and more... POLICE CONDUCT 73 Law Enforcement Line-of-Duty Deaths in First Half of 2018 Firearms-related fatalities increase 24 percent over same period last year  (NLEOMF.org) Long Island's top cops use technology to target guns, gangs and drugs  (Newsday) The Park City Police Are Reaching Out To HOA's To Lower Crime Rates In Neighborhoods  (KPCW) see also:  Police outreach in DC community where tensions are high doesn't go as planned  (WUSA) Baltimore police stopped noticing crime after Freddie Gray's death. A wave of killings followed.  (USAToday) Callback system aims to close loop for APD reports  (KTVA) Common Council approves historic settlement with ACLU over unconstitutional traffic stops (Milwaukee Independent) CRIME RATE Live in a Chicago neighborhoo...

Policing the homeless lessons learned, AI and facial recognition used by more agencies, data analysis drives policing, Uber safety algorithm, fact checking illegal immigration, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Operation I.C.O.N. reducing crime by half in KCK neighborhood  (KSHB) New study finds a relationship between US police department receipt of military excess hardware and increased suspect deaths  (SAGE Journals) Size of Memphis Police Force Study Weighs Numbers in Ranks and How to Use Them  (Memphis Daily News) Lessons learned from 25 years of policing the homeless  (PoliceOne.com) Nonprofit Roca begins relentless pursuit of Baltimore's most dangerous young men — to change them  (Baltimore Sun) CRIME RATE How to Determine if the Neighborhood Where You’re Buying a House Is Safe  (ZING!) Florida among top states for murder-suicides  (Miami-Herald) Is Illegal Immigration Linked to More or Less Crime?  (FactCheck.org) Hackers May B...

Predicting crimes hits departments nationwide, not sure why homicide rates rising, Amazon deploys facial recognition tech with police departments, using DNA and genealogy to solve murder cases, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Mining Social Media Data for Policing, the Ethical Way  (Data-Smart City Solutions) DPS says body cam clears trooper of sexual assault; accuser’s attorney apologizes  (WFAA) What LEOs wish the public knew about ALPR technology and data usage  (PoliceOne.com) CRIME RATE Sex offender registry: More harm than good?  (CT Mirror) No Easy Explanation for U.S. Homicide Rise: Criminologists  (TheCrimeReport.org)  Violent Crimes Reported to Police Hit Record Lows  (CrimeInAmerica.net) The unconscionable backlog of unprocessed rape kits in California  (LATimes) Eight charts on guns in America  (Newsday) Managing risk: How organized crime has changed the retail security business  (Kentucky.com) Posting mugsho...

WHAT IS AI AND MACHINE LEARNING? Artificial intelligence and machine learning are hot topic terms that are sometimes used interchangeably. Artificial intelligence (AI) is the theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence. Machine learning is the field of computer science and application of AI that gives computers the ability to learn without being explicitly programmed through access to data.  Google’s DeepMind lab project ‘AlphaZero’ recently learned chess in four hours. It’s being labeled a ‘superhuman performance’ because not only did AlphaZero learn chess, it absorbed all data on the entire history of chess and then figured out how to beat anyone or anything in the game in one-sixth of a day. This type of technological advancement not only changes the way chess will be played, but it creates endless possibilities for technology that can be applied to other aspects of everyday human life. THE BIG DA...

The future of policing always makes me think of the movie Minority Report, a movie that examines whether free will can exist if the future is set and known in advance. In the movie, Tom Cruise gets accused of a murder he hasn’t committed yet, and because of the technology used in the movie, is arrested. Predictive policing is a buzzword these days. So what is Predicitive Policing and does it work? Predictive Policing, also known as PREDPOL, is a police strategy created to solve crimes, prevent crimes, and predict where future crimes might happen. The main goal is to remove the opportunity to commit crime before it’s even there. Holy Minority Report, Batman! I don’t believe our laws would ever let technology ever decide the fate of a person who hasn’t committed a crime yet. However, I do think technology has and will continue to helped deter crime. There are a series of features needed - data collection, software, police, and response i in order for PREDPOL predictions and ...