SpotCrime - The Public's Crime Map

Amazon has narrowed down the locations for their second headquarters to a list of 20 finalists  out of the 238 cities and regions that applied. The winning city could get up to 50,000 high-paying jobs and $5 billion in investment, boosting the local economy. Amazon's requirements were metropolitan areas with a population greater than one million and the ability to attract and keep strong technical talent.  SpotCrime is mapping crime in almost every major city in the US. We took a look at the 20 finalists  to see if we were mapping crime in cities appealing to Amazon.  We are aggregating good data from all by 1 city! This is good for Amazon - we believe a city with great police data transparency means better community relations and an open feedback loop. Cities who are transparent with crime data are typically transparent with other types of data, like transit or financial data, which can make addressing the growing pains that come with building their a mas...

Things are getting worse in Mexico, FBI releases first half 2017 prelim stats, hate crime data woes, rural areas experience mass incarceration, crime prediction software comes into question, school gun violence, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Sheriff’s office data show Wells Branch crime initiative worked  (Statesman.com) Baltimore Police officer who turned off body camera charged with tampering with evidence; others cleared  (Baltimore Sun) “Get Out of Jail Free” Cards  (MarginalRevolution.com) Poor crime reporting could cost Mississippi law enforcement agencies federal funds  (Clarion Ledger) No cops to be charged in 2016 shooting of Paul O’Neal  (Chicago Sun Times) see also:  Punishing Police Won’t Curb Officer-Involved Shootings: Study  (TheCrimeReport.org) Confusion, varying thresholds keep many Minnesota agencies from reporting hate crime data  (Star Tribune) CRIME RATE School Shooting in Kentucky Was Nation’s 11th of Year  ...

Lower crime rate linked to Medicaid expansion, Trump talks prison reform, police create mental health partnerships, the debate on accuracy of crime prediction software and risk evaluation continues, legalized marijuana can help lower violent crime, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Hopkins study finds disbanded Baltimore Police plainclothes unit provided most effective violence strategy, despite problems  (Baltimore Sun) Phoenix police link 9 murders within hours using in-house technology  (AZCentral.com) Memphis police's new way of tallying killings will mean fewer recorded homicides  (CommericalAppeal.com) Simulation model finds Cure Violence program and targeted policing more effective in curbing urban violence  (UC Davis) Mason City police, Cerro Gordo County start mental health partnership  (Globe Gazette) CRIME RATE New Evidence Links Medicaid Expansion to Lower Crime Rates  (TheCrimeReport.org) Violent Crime Has Dropped In Border States W...

AI improves highway patrol response times, body cams prove useful for LVMPD, 2017 crime rate predictions, WalMart gives up private policing, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Body Cameras Increase Satisfaction, Savings for the Las Vegas Police Department (StateTech) Assaults On Police Officers Increase Dramatically (CrimeInAmerica.net) Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn announces retirement (JSOnline.com) Police chief arrested in undercover child sex sting (CNN) Nationwide, police shot and killed nearly 1,000 people in 2017 (Washington Post) CRIME RATE Will Keeping Mass Killers Out of the Media Spotlight Save Lives? (TheCrimeReport.org) 2017 Crime Rates Expected to Drop (Governing) A Seven-Step Plan for Ending the Opioid Crisis (Bloomberg.com) See also: Knox County authorities change way they document drug overdoses (Knox News) Walmart Has Given Up Its Private Policing for Shoplifters (24/7 Wall St) Often ranked as one of the deadliest cities in America,...

Criminals drop bitcoin, what we know about sexual assault victims, officer deaths drop, hate crimes are hard to find, making AI accountable, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Bodycam footage shows cookie-stealing squirrel lunging at police officer (ABC News) Number of officers killed hits 2nd-lowest in more than 50 years (USAToday) Prosecutors Benefiting Most From Police Body Cameras (TechDirt) CRIME RATE New Zealand Study Provides More Support for Lead-Crime Hypothesis (Mother Jones) Youth played tragic role in year's homicides (Toledo Blade) More trouble for the ‘Nigerian prince’: Louisiana police say they caught scam’s middle man. (Washington Post) The poorest Americans are 12 times as likely to be sexually assaulted as the wealthiest (Quartz) see also: What We Know About Victims Of Sexual Assault In America (FiveThirtyEight) What We Discovered During a Year of Documenting Hate (ProPublica) Open Data and Overdose Mapping Techniques (Ne...

Crime is up...or down, the efficiency of AI and data in policing, the problem with stolen guns, transparency an antidote to fake news, plea bargains and bail a problem with the justice system, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Data shows Utah is ‘headed in the right direction’ with criminal justice reforms, report says (Salt Lake Tribune) St. Louis Police Continue to Cite Blacks for Marijuana Possession at a High Rate (Riverfronttimes.com) See also: Florida Police Issue Hundreds of Bad Pedestrian Tickets Every Year Because They Don’t Seem to Know the Law (ProPublica) Local law enforcement authorities support DACA in federal court (Houston Chronicle) In Alabama, an official’s use of public funds and behavior toward critics have raised questions about the broad powers of American sheriffs. (NYTimes) CRIME RATE Year-End Analysis: Crime and Murder Down in 2017 (BrennanCenter.org) See also: U.S. Crime Rate is Stable, Victimization Survey Says (TheCrimeReport.org) and also: ...

SpotCrime is now mapping crime in Boone, IA ! Crime in Boone, IA SpotCrime first reached out to the Boone Police Department with crime tips from users.  We run  crimetip.us , a free and anonymous crime tip service for police and residents. After learning that SpotCrime will map crime and send email alerts free of charge, Boone PD asked how to get crime data on SpotCrime. We got the data up on our map within a day! SpotCrime will now be getting weekly updates of crime directly from the Boone police department. Boone is located in central rural Iowa and has a population just over 12,000. The Boone Police Department employs about 25 officers and civilians, including K-9 Shocker. President Dwight D. Eisenhower's wife and First Lady of the United States, Mamie Eisenhower , was born in Boone. The Boone County Sheriff's office is located onWest Mamie Eisenhower Ave in the city! Make sure to check back in a couple of weeks. We will have enough data on the map for the si...