The Los Angeles Times added crime statistics to its Mapping L.A. project yesterday, giving readers an easily understandable view of crime in their neighborhood.
"Using daily reports from the LAPD and L.A. County Sheriff's Department, The Times is providing a comprehensive stream of data on serious crimes, tracking trends and offering alerts at the neighborhood level," according to the story introducing the new Mapping L.A. crime component.
Maps on the site show where crime is up significantly, how high the violent or property crime rate is, and where the crimes occurred.
The stats and charts on each neighborhood page as well as the countywide maps make it easy to understand the types of crime being reported.
Right now, the neighborhoods policed by the LAPD and L.A. County Sheriff's Department are the only neighborhoods with crime data.
Other areas will be included "as more data becomes available in a useable format," according to the project's about page.
The fact that the L.A. Times obtained a useable data feed that's updated daily stretched the limits of the California Public Records Act, as the story points out, and is a laudable accomplishment itself.
The extent to which the data was vetted and verified rather than just repurposed is also admirable, and makes it an invaluable resource when gauging the amount of crime reported to the police.
The crime alerts will also be interesting to watch. A story that also ran yesterday in the L.A. Times said the city budget crisis allowed homicide cases go unsolved until the FBI joined forces with the LAPD to share resources:
Though the FBI and LAPD have collaborated before, officials from both agencies said the speed with which the improvised idea came together, the scope of the assistance and its immediate effect were unprecedented.
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