The Seattle Police Department believes that the more information you have, the safer you are. That’s why you can find a great deal of data about crime in Seattle on SPD’s website.
“We’re not waiting for constiuents to ask us for information,” says Bill Schrier, Seattle’s Chief Technology Officer.” We’re actively taking data we’ve collected and putting it out there for anyone to see and be able to use, which helps you keep yourself safer. The open data’s not just about openness, it’s also about giving constituents the data to help themselves.”
Want to know whether burglars, car prowlers or muggers have been active around your home or business? Then check out the city’s My Neighborhood map.
When you first hit the My Neighborhoods site, click one of the tabs at the top to view either police reports or recently dispatched 911 calls. On the left side of the page, you can search for crimes by type and date, or simply type in your address to find out about crimes near you. Remember: the site contains a whole lot of data, and sometimes can take a few seconds to load.
In addition to viewing crimes on the map, you can also create an account on the department’s online report application and view a list of recent incidents, or look up a specific report with a case number The Seattle Police Department typically only posts full reports for crimes like assault, burglary, robbery and homicide, and not all police reports are only available online. If you need a copy of a report not available online, you can contact the department’s Public Request Unit.
The police department also posts statistical date on month-to-month and year-to-year crime trends in Seattle. You can view monthly reports on citywide crime statistics for major crimes—including homicides, sexual assaults, robbery, other serious assaults, burglaries, thefts, and vehicle thefts—and even look at statistics for each one of the city’s 36 police beats. If you’re a real data detective, you can also dive deep into the department’s crime statistics—and generate your own charts and reports—on the city’s data website.
That’s not all you can find on the police department’s website. SPD also provides access to the statewide sex offender database, Tweets about stolen vehicles and posts the latest crime news on the SPD Blotter. And don’t forget to follow and like the Seattle Police Department on Twitter and Facebook to find out about crime as it’s happening.