Open Data On the Ground: Jamaica’s Crimebot by Samuel Lee.
From the post:
Some areas of Jamaica, particularly major cities such as Kingston and Montego Bay, experience high levels of crime and violence. If you were to type, “What is Jamaica’s biggest problem” in a Google search, you’ll see that the first five results are about crime.
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Using data to pinpoint high crime areas
CrimeBot (www.crimebot.net) fights crime by providing crime hotspot views and sending out alerts based on locations through mobile devices. By allowing citizens to submit information about suspicious activity in real-time, CrimeBot also serves as a tool to fight back against crime and criminals. As its base of users grow and information expands, CrimeBot can more accurately pinpoint areas of higher crime frequency for informed and improved public safety. Developed by a team in Jamaica, CrimeBot improves the “neighborhood watch” concept by applying mobile technology to information dissemination and real-time data collection. A Google Hangout discussion with CrimeBot team member Dave Oakley can be viewed through this link.
Data collection technology that helps reduce violence and crime
The CrimeBot team – Kashif Hewitt, Dave Oakley, Aldrean Smith, Garth Thompson – came together in the lead up to a Caribbean apps competition in Jamaica called Digital Jam 3, in which CrimeBot was awarded the top prize. Prior to entering the contest, the group researched the most pressing issues in the Caribbean and Jamaica, which turned out to be violence and crime.
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The team decided to help Jamaicans fight and reduce crime by taking a deeper look at international statistics and conducting interviews with potential users of the app among friends and other contacts. In just 19 days of development, the team took CrimeBot from concept to working prototype.
The team discovered that 58% of crimes around the world go unreported. Interviews with potential users of the app revealed that many would-be tipsters feared for their safety, lacked confidence in local authorities, or preferred to take matters into their own hands. To counter some of these barriers, CrimeBot offers an anonymous way to report crime. While this doesn’t directly solve crimes, CrimeBot provides law enforcement officials with better data, intelligence, and affords citizens and tourists greater protection through preventative measures.
Crimebot is of particular interest because it includes unreported crimes, which don’t show up in maps constructed on the basis of arrests.
One can imagine real time crime maps at a concierge desk with offers from local escort (in the traditional sense) services.
Or when merged with other records, the areas with the lowest conviction rates and/or prison sentences.
The project also has a compelling introduction video: