Why is Public Crime Mapping Such a Powerful Tool?
To be honest, it’s not a very powerful tool. We believe public crime maps are just the bare bones. Engagement and open data are more powerful tools. Engagement is a key metric in determining if a product is successful or useful. We measure engagement by emails and visits. What good is a crime map if no one looks at it? SpotCrime is the most visited crime mapping site in the US. We have over 1 million views a month to our website and send out over 8.5 million email alerts a month. We’ve been able to reach this size without charging residents or a single police agency and without taking any federal funding or grants. SpotCrime map on News4SanAntonio.com We’ve found that one email alert is sometimes forwarded on to 100 community watch members. Since we’re a free service and our main source of revenue is advertising and media partnerships with companies like Gannett and Sinclair , we have incentive to reach as many eyes as possible with crime information. The informati