Today, the Seattle Police Department launched its Crime Data Dashboard, giving Seattle residents access to the same statistical information on incidents of property and violent crime used by SPD commanders, officers and analysts to direct police patrols.
“This tool provides Seattle residents with unprecedented transparency and accessibility to accurate and timely crime data,” said Mayor Ed Murray. “With this data at their fingertips, the community and Seattle police can build stronger partnerships to address and prevent crime.”
The Department developed the Crime Data Dashboard, which is the public-facing version of the dashboard that drives the SeaStat process, as part of its ongoing efforts to enhance public trust through transparency and to continue its push to effectively address crime and disorder in the City through its data-driven and community policing approach.
“Prevention, intervention, and enforcement are the key elements to reducing crime,” said Chief Kathleen O’Toole. “By providing this data, we hope it will help keep residents informed about what is happening in their neighborhoods, help inform our Micro Community Policing Plans and assist our community-based partners further strengthen prevention and intervention strategies,” she continued.
Dashboard users will now be able to view and sort historic and current data on crime across the city, in precincts, and in each Micro Community. Data on the dashboard is refreshed on a monthly basis and will account for any ongoing changes in the status of an investigation. Additionally, all of the data released through the dashboard is open-source and downloadable for further analysis.
For information about the Dashboard’s functions and features, check out the following video: