San Diegans now have a new tool to keep an eye on local crime, as the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) has unveiled an online dashboard that provides citizens with near-real-time data on criminal activity in their neighborhoods. The recently launched SDPD Neighborhood Crime Summary Dashboard, packed with features, aims to offer the public a dynamic visual representation of crime trends and statistics in the city.
The user-friendly dashboard is divided into three tabs. It includes crime trends, types, and a map pinpointing clusters of incidents. Users can drill down to see data at the citywide level or get granular by looking into specific neighborhoods. However, the department noted that the tool ensures privacy by omitting personal details of suspects and victims, along with the precise locations of crimes.
According to a statement from the SDPD, the second tab, named the Crime Data Explorer, invites those looking for more detailed analysis. It allows for comparisons and filters based on parameters like date range, division and crime categories. For the data enthusiasts, the underlying dataset will soon be accessible via the City of San Diego open data portal.
The SDPD's shift towards transparency and easy information access is showcased in this latest initiative. Committed to this path, the department is also working on additional tools to present police data in an easily digestible format. In line with this, the department has begun reporting all crimes using the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) standards in 2021,, moving away from the older FBI Summary Reporting System's limited violent and property crime counts.
Detailed crime categories under NIBRS span offences against persons, property, and society, encompassing a wider array of crimes like drug offenses, weapon offences, and gambling, among others. The SDPD has stated that historical crime data will continue to be available on the Annual Crime Reports website and on the city's Open Data Portal. For those keen to get a quick start, a tutorial video on utilizing the new dashboard is available on SDPD's YouTube Channel.
