Chicago launches daily crime database

Chicago officials launched a new service on Wednesday – a searchable online database of crime statistics that will be updated daily.

The database, which goes back as far as 2001, so far lists 4.6 million crimes, ranging from marijuana possession to homicide, along with each address, if there was an arrest, the police beat, city ward and case number, The Associated Press reports.

The database doesn’t include race or detailed police reports, and it won't include some cases that are under federal investigation, according to the AP. Also, the database won’t reveal if shootings involved police officers, although all homicides will be listed.

"It's a whole new era of openness and transparency," Brett Goldstein, the city's chief data officer, told the press. "You determine your own analysis."

The city hopes that it the data will be used by residents who want to review trends in their neighborhoods, academics who study crime and entrepreneurs creating websites or apps. Goldstein said the information should also reduce Freedom of Information Act requests.

According to the AP:

The release is the latest attempt by the administration of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who took office in May, to make city dealings more open and counter Chicago's reputation for entrenched systemic corruption and backroom deals. Chicago officials recently posted online the salaries of city employees, city contracts and lobbying data, with more information expected in coming months.

“By posting this data online, we are providing a resource that will significantly impact criminal research while allowing community organizations to more effectively collaborate with the Chicago Police Department and better understand where crime is happening in their neighborhoods, streets and corners,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement, NBC Chicago reports.

The raw data paints a picture of the city, NBC Chicago reports:

Certain blocks have crime profiles particular to the local businesses. 900 North Michigan, at the top of the Magnificent Mile, is mostly retail theft and pocket picking. 200 North Kostner, in the K-Town drug marketplace, shows possession of heroin, possession of crack and unlawful use of a handgun.

While a few other cities, including New York, Houston and Seattle, do publish some crime information online, none of them offer as comprehensive or as up-to-date information as Chicago has said it will supply.

"It's big," David Kennedy, director of the Center for Crime Prevention and Control at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, told the AP. "If not unprecedented, it's very unusual."