[Scan-DC] Crime Data in Frederick, MD

[Alan Henney]

From: "spotcrime.com" <system at spotcrime.com>
Date: September 17, 2015 at 11:51:03 EDT
Subject: Your Crime Data in Frederick, MD


Dear City of Frederick Subscriber:

Since founding SpotCrime in Baltimore nearly eight years ago, we have been asking the City of Frederick Police Department to be open with crime data.

In that eight years, SpotCrime has grown to the largest crime mapping organization in the world. We also map most of Maryland. 

Eight years later we are still asking Frederick Police Department to be open and transparent with crime data. And, eight years later, they are still making it difficult. 

Currently, the police department employs a mapping system that restricts the press and the public from using and sharing the information. This is doubly confounding because this same vendor sells crime data out of state - meaning local press can't have open access to Frederick data, but any marketing company out of state willing to pay can. 

This fails any definition of transparency or openness. In our view, it is hard to trust any agency that is not willing to share public data with everyone. Wouldn't it be more beneficial if everyone had equal, fair, and unrestricted access to public information?

Today, your police department is asking local citizens to fill out a survey. In the survey there is a question about transparency and national events. Likely, this is a reference to Ferguson and similar events around the country including Baltimore. It is interesting to note that two years before the events in Ferguson, the Ferguson police department elected to stop reporting crime data openly to the public. 

It is my belief that accurate reporting and transparency can improve policing and public trust. No agency gets better or improves quality by hiding and holding back information. 

Please fill out the police survey honestly. Here's the link:

http://bit.ly/fredsurvey

And please ask your police department to share the results of the survey (you know, ask them to be transparent). 

Thank you,

Colin Drane
Founder
SpotCrime.com
877.410.1607
feedback at spotcrime.com

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