New app seeks to democratize crime data

SpotCrime, an independent crime mapping and crime alert service, is introducing the MyLocalCrime mobile application to the Google Play and iTunes app stores.

The app allows users to obtain detailed crime descriptions and seamlessly share crime-related information with others via text, email, and a number of social media platforms. It includes a map with verified incident-based crime data down to the street level. Most wanted criminals are displayed in an area, based on the user’s location. A cold case database will be added in early 2020.

“The MyLocalCrime app is another platform to push relevant crime information out to the public,” says SpotCrime Vice President Brittany Suszan. “The more people who can access this information, the more prepared a community can be when it comes to crime prevention efforts and cultivating the community-police relationship.”

The data on MyLocalCrime is collected from more than 1,000 police agencies, including the 100 most populated cities in the U.S., and is frequently updated. Each data point includes a source back to the police agency from which the data was collected so that users can verify the information for themselves.

“This crime data needs to be democratized in order to be effective in reducing crime and protecting the public,” Suszan explains. “SpotCrime is constantly trying to find new ways to make this data useful to the public and police agencies, and the MyLocalCrime app represents one of those ways.”

SpotCrime anticipates sending 300 million email alerts in 2019. It estimates more than 20 million people interact with the crime data from SpotCrime monthly.