2007.10.26
Where's the crime data?
The crime data is on the way.
A couple of alert readers asked if we’ll have police blotter-type data on the DataSphere site. The answer is yes. The quality of it has yet to be determined.
I can tell you that in the near future we’ll have a massive, searchable database of crime data for each locality in the state, with scads of detail to it. You’ll be able to search by the department that reported each crime, among other ways.
Crime data is at its best when it’s fresh, detailed down to the address where the offense occurred, and available with interactive mapping.
You’ll find no better example than Chicagocrime.org.
Trust me, we aspire to all those great qualities in presenting our crime data. But to do that, you have to have the data with that level of detail, and that’s where our hopes get arrested.
The data we have from the Virginia State Police has amazing depth and detail, but doesn’t include specific addresses, or even streets and block numbers.
While police and sheriff’s departments in our region all keep this data, some are not willing to share the data electronically, which we need to make the best use of it.
Many departments offer the data themselves on their own websites, but it’s usually not searchable.
One very noteworthy exception is the Vinton Police Department, which used a grant to develop an online mapping site for their crime statistics.
We hope to get more cooperation, but in the meantime watch for me to link to the data each department is offering on the public safety page of the DataSphere.
And watch, too, for the launch of the crime database we’re already working on.
Crime statistic availability for Roanoke City has been discussed in the past. The thought on making crime statistics public and online was considered unwise (as I understand it) for enticing business and young professionals to the area and/or move to certain areas.
High Point, NC, where I grew up very, very long ago is an example of the way it should be made public ....
Link for combating Gangs:
http://www.high-point.net/police/gang.cfm
Checkout the "Crime on My Street" in the sidebar.
Comment by Valerie — October 27, 2007 @ 10:01 pm
Thanks for the link, Valerie. That looks like exactly the same setup as Vinton's mapping system. A much more useful resourse than a static listing.
You do risk reinforcing perceptions about high crime areas when you make these stats available. But facts are facts.
Any other thoughts out there on the balance between pubic information and improving perceptions of your community?
Comment by Matt Chittum — October 28, 2007 @ 10:08 am
You're right Matt, facts are facts. I don't want sugar coating on crime in my neck of the woods. Just because stats are not reported where the public can easily view it, doesn't mean the crimes haven't happened. The public has the right to know, and if they know could possibly help law enforcement. Pretending there's not a problem does no one any good.
Comment by Ms. Elenaeous — October 28, 2007 @ 5:09 pm
Chicago is awesome. It must be an in-house written software application. Vinton and High Point use the same software vendor it seems with a few customizations. Roanoke City as a Digital City could put together something cool like Chicago. Look at Roanoke City's GIS system ... if they can do such a good job with all the detail in their GIS database you know they could manage Crime Statistics with detail if they wanted to.
By the way have you gone to the City's Technology Dept. and seen the cool intro?
Comment by Valerie — October 28, 2007 @ 9:26 pm
Isn't Chicagocrime amazing? It's run as a non-profit, obviously by some people with a great mix of interest in public information and impressive programming ability. You can even plot around on the map -- say your regularly jogging route -- and it'll show the crime along that path. You can even sort it by crime within the vicinity of certain kinds locations -- barbershops, liquor stores, whatever. And I understand it runs only about 24 hours behind.
Comment by Matt Chittum — October 29, 2007 @ 9:14 am
ChicagoCrime.org was built by one person (Adrian Holovaty, with design by Wilson Miner) using Django, an open-source Web framework that's used by newspapers in the Scripps chain and by us at washingtonpost.com. It's a non-profit in the sense that it's one of Adrian's side projects, but it's also a great example of what a single person can do.
Comment by Derek Willis — October 30, 2007 @ 6:46 am
Thanks for the clarification, Derek.
Comment by Matt — October 30, 2007 @ 10:02 am