Category Archives: Uncategorized

Justice in Policing Act, minimum wage, gun violence, mental health calls, inmate mortality rates, how terrorism transformed law enforcement, racial disparities in policing, legalizing marijuana, what caused the 2020 murder spike, and more… POLICE CONDUCT House to Vote on George Floyd Justice in Policing Act (Milwaukee Community Journal)Why Cops Don’t Talk About Suicide (TheCrimeReport.org) Dayton-area police agenciesContinue reading “Week of February 22, 2021”

Cities implementing different forms of police reform, AI tech ban, news deserts allow for corruption in SC, dropping crime rates in some cities, drones for deescalation, ending cash bail, COVID as a case for open data, and more… POLICE CONDUCT Consultant finds Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office ‘data rich, information poor’ (Santa Maria Times) South BendContinue reading “Week of February 15, 2021”

Surveillance drones and spy planes, winter crime rate, more police agencies begin sharing crime data with the public, jail costs went up when crime went down, looking at crime concentration in specific neighborhoods, giving ex-offenders a second chance, and more… POLICE CONDUCT Memphis Police increasing patrols for ‘Operation Winter Freeze’ (NewsChannel3 Memphis) see also: Houston leaders increasingContinue reading “Week of February 8, 2021”

Mental health resources for police and increase in mental health calls in some cities, body cams on plain clothes cops requirement in Newark, militarization of police not reducing crime or helping police, police start using different and new crime reduction programs, police surveillance is evolving quickly, and more…  POLICE CONDUCT The Danger to Policing inContinue reading “Week of January 25, 2021”

Capitol attack attended by police officers, driving down the crime rate in 2021, addressing police reforms, banning facial recognition,  COVID in prisons, and more… POLICE CONDUCT Columbus officials plan addresses public safety and police reform efforts Thursday (ABC6) Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, N.J. native, picks up new job … in law enforcement (NJ.com) Off-duty police wereContinue reading “Week of January 18, 2021”

Police community partnership, examining the COVID crime rate, Capitol insurrection arrests include police officers, facial recognition, victimless crimes, private prisons, and more… POLICE CONDUCT Honoring the fallen: 264 cops killed in line of duty in 2020 with COVID deaths top cause (WSET) Former NYPD head calls for 9/11-style commission to investigate Capitol riot (The Hill) Police prepareContinue reading “Week of January 11, 2021”

Police chief change ups across the US, police and cities seek answers to violent crime, link between police reform and drop in violent crime, facial recognition, reducing recidivism with housing project, and more… POLICE CONDUCT Violent Crime Rates Declined in 10 Jurisdictions Following Comprehensive Police Reform (Center for American Progress) see also: North Carolina sheriffs group recommendsContinue reading “Week of November 16, 2020”

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 accessContinue reading “SpotCrime’s Mission to Democratize Crime Data”

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. TheContinue reading “SpotCrime Transparency Ranking 2020 Update”

Below is the paper I authored that was published in The American Society of Criminology’s newsletter The Criminologist. The American Society of Criminology (ASC) is an international organization whose members pursue scholarly, scientific and professional knowledge concerning the measurement, etiology, consequences, prevention, control, and treatment of crime and delinquency. ASC publications consist of the following: the journals, Criminology and Criminology & PublicContinue reading “A Call for Researchers to Embrace Robust, Open Crime Data”