Comments on: Article: Let’s get crime mapping http://heatherbrooke.org/2008/crimemapping/ Heather Brooke is an award-winning writer, journalist and activist Wed, 21 Dec 2011 15:17:30 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Colin http://heatherbrooke.org/2008/crimemapping/comment-page-1/#comment-1668 Colin Sun, 06 Jul 2008 10:56:12 +0000 http://www.yrtk.org/?p=552#comment-1668 An interesting twist in the US crime mapping story is that some of the companies paid by the police departments to produce crime maps are preventing commercial access to the data. Our company, SpotCrime.com, has been asked to stop accessing public data because of the terms of service of the contractor hired to inform the public. It is SpotCrime's contention that the data should be distributed freely without any additional filters or constraints. While improbable, it will never be konwn if the information about the burglary a week before the horrific murder of the French students had been publicly distributed that the event could have been prevented. We at SpotCrime.com hope to create positive consequences by informing the public of the crime incidents around them. An interesting twist in the US crime mapping story is that some of the companies paid by the police departments to produce crime maps are preventing commercial access to the data. Our company, SpotCrime.com, has been asked to stop accessing public data because of the terms of service of the contractor hired to inform the public.
It is SpotCrime’s contention that the data should be distributed freely without any additional filters or constraints.
While improbable, it will never be konwn if the information about the burglary a week before the horrific murder of the French students had been publicly distributed that the event could have been prevented.
We at SpotCrime.com hope to create positive consequences by informing the public of the crime incidents around them.

]]> By: Darryl Collins http://heatherbrooke.org/2008/crimemapping/comment-page-1/#comment-1667 Darryl Collins Sun, 06 Jul 2008 08:33:29 +0000 http://www.yrtk.org/?p=552#comment-1667 Great article, I agree wholeheartedly. Crime data is of serious and legitimate public interest and should be freely available, not hidden and protected. I thought you might be interested in a Northern Ireland Crime Map we created last week http://www.banjax.com/sandbox/crime/ - this used publicly accessible data on annual crime statistics by local ward level. Unfortunately it only goes up to 2006/07 as 2007/08 figures "are being prepared and will not be available until the end of the summer". This despite having a summary published in a PSNI newsletter delivered to every home in Northern Ireland! Great article, I agree wholeheartedly. Crime data is of serious and legitimate public interest and should be freely available, not hidden and protected. I thought you might be interested in a Northern Ireland Crime Map we created last week http://www.banjax.com/sandbox/crime/ – this used publicly accessible data on annual crime statistics by local ward level. Unfortunately it only goes up to 2006/07 as 2007/08 figures “are being prepared and will not be available until the end of the summer”. This despite having a summary published in a PSNI newsletter delivered to every home in Northern Ireland!

]]> By: Elizabeth Woodworth http://heatherbrooke.org/2008/crimemapping/comment-page-1/#comment-1666 Elizabeth Woodworth Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:47:45 +0000 http://www.yrtk.org/?p=552#comment-1666 "But the Data Protection Act does not prohibit personal information being disclosed. Its purpose is to ensure that such disclosure is for a legitimate purpose." To continue this sentence accurately, its purpose is to ensure disclosure for a legitimate purpose where it is necessary and where that disclosure is not unwarranted by reason of prejudice to the legitimate interests of the subject of the request. What is required is a balancing test that is sometimes very complex. That is why the ICO is needed to consider such issues objectively. “But the Data Protection Act does not prohibit personal information being disclosed. Its purpose is to ensure that
such disclosure is for a legitimate purpose.”

To continue this sentence accurately, its purpose is to ensure disclosure for a legitimate purpose where it is
necessary and where that disclosure is not unwarranted by reason of prejudice to the legitimate interests of the
subject of the request. What is required is a balancing test that is sometimes very complex. That is why the ICO is
needed to consider such issues objectively.

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