SpotCrime - The Public's Crime Map

There has been a rise in violent crimes like shootings and homicides in 2020 that has left police chiefs, crime analysts, and academics scratching their heads. The current climate surrounding policing has not helped. Violent protests have erupted around the country. A counter protester shot and killed two protesters in Kenosha . Two officers were shot in Louisville . Take the increase in the violent crime rate ( and increasing rates of domestic violence ), add in social unrest and protests during a global pandemic and an upcoming presidential election plus all of the social media platforms on the internet available to millions of people at once and you are left with a melting pot of uncertainty and recipe for disaster.  Although experts aren’t quite sure what has caused the increase in violent crime , the most common denominator circulating with this violence  is social media . Most social media outlets want to drive clicks, comments, likes, and shares in order to drive reven...

Our curated list of news headlines relating to crime and policing. This week features mental health, social workers added to police forces, white supremacists and anarchists biggest domestic terrorist threats, police and justice system algorithms get a second look, crime data transparency ranking, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Pinellas County sheriff to announce changes to Mental Health Unit, response to calls for service  (WFLA)  see also:  Northern Kentucky police departments add social workers to police force  (Local12)  When Suspects Resist Arrest: Prevalence, Correlates, and Implications for Front-Line Policing  (Sage Journals) Dothan police arrest 73 in Operation ‘Clean Sweep’  (DothanFirst.com) Pittsburgh Public Schools Seeks Approval To Contract With Organization To Evaluate Data On Police Calls, Arrest And Citations  (CBS Pittsburgh) Knoxville City Council meets Thursday to discuss new study on Knoxville shootings  (10News) CRIME R...

In addition to working to become one of the largest crime mapping and alert systems in the world, we also advocate for open, equal, and fair access to crime data. We've interacted with thousands of police agencies over the past 10+ years which has given us incredible insight into different ways police departments allow access to public crime information. In our attempt to collect data en masse, we strive to make sure data is available not only to SpotCrime, but to anyone who wants access. In turn, a democratized footprint of crime data has grown and continues to grow across the nation.  What does SpotCrime do? SpotCrime collects public crime data from police agencies across the US and delivers it to the public via crime maps and email alerts.  In the process of this mass aggregation of public information, we’ve become a sort of crime data transparency watchdog. If you see crime data for your city on SpotCrime, that typically means your police department is transparent with cri...

The SpotCrime Crime Data Transparency Ranking was created in 2013 and ranks cities on how open they are with crime data. Periodically, we update the ranking to reflect the ever-changing landscape of open crime data.  This year we have decided to make a few changes in regard to our ranking procedures, all which are outlined below. The good news is there has been an increase in deployment and use of open crime data portals . We’ve been able to bump up the ranking of quite a few cities because of this! Updated ranking procedure The adoption rate and use of open data portals has increased significantly, so we thought it fair to reflect this common use of technology as an element in our ranking scores.  Previously, a city could receive a ‘2’ ranking as long as they published data timely somewhere to their website in some sort of machine-readable format. Now, it is only possible to get the highest ranking of a ‘2’ if the data is being published openly and timely to a data portal....

Predictive policing turns into harassment, racial bias in policing, increase in gun violence, 2019 BJS criminal victimization survey findings, body cam transparency, and more...Subscribe to SpotCrime's Weekly Reads by signing up for a free SpotCrime email crime alert or heading over to our Substack . POLICE CONDUCT Pasco County Sheriff launched an algorithm to predict who might commit a crime. Dozens of people said they were harassed by deputies for no reason.  (Business Insider) Race, policing, and the universal yearning for safety Phillip Atiba Goff explains what we know — and don’t know — about racial bias in policing.  (Vox) How is Defunding the Police Going in Minneapolis?  (Marginal Revolution) 2 LA County deputies in stable condition after being shot in Compton; search for gunman continues  (ABC7) Connecticut police chief resigns, faces federal charges of rigging his hiring  (Fox News) Why It’s Not So Simple To Arrest The Cops Who Shot Breonna Taylor ...

Mental health response teams making difference, camera surveillance and license plate readers, reviewing use of force, white supremacists as the 'most persistent and lethal threat' to the US, the public growing more tolerant toward politically motivated violence, data collection needed for community safety discussion, and more... POLICE CONDUCT Cleveland City Council accepts anti-crime grant, but first debates whether hiring more officers is best move  (Cleveland.com) Federal Judge Temporarily Prohibits Detroit Police From Using Batons, Gas And Rubber Bullets On Peaceful Protesters Chief Craig: “We don't want to use force on peaceful protesters"  (WWJ News Radio) Chief: 19 Asheville police officers have retired or resigned since June 1  (WLOS) Police shoot unarmed 13-year-old boy with autism several times after mother calls for help  (The Guardian) Mental health crisis intervention program saving lives, funds for Oregon city  (KSAT) see also:  Community Res...

Revising use of force policies, highway stop and frisks, mental health professionals added to police arsenal, white supremacy and far right militancy in law enforcement, police in schools arrest children as young as 4 in CT, body cams show officer being stabbed, encrypting police scanners, does jail punish or rehab, and more...Subscribe to the weekly reads by signing up for SpotCrime email alerts or head to our Substack . POLICE CONDUCT Pasco’s sheriff created a futuristic program to stop crime before it happens. It monitors and harasses families across the county.  (Tampa Bay Times) Memo to Police Chiefs: Time for ‘Uncomfortable’ Conversations  (TheCrimeReport.org) see also:  Former Columbus mayor and public safety leaders call for dialogue to resolve issues surrounding police  (The Columbus Dispatch) Detroit police board revises use of force rules, OKs ban on chokeholds  (Detroit News) see also:  Corpus Christi Police Department makes de-escalation a pri...