

Ask HN:Is anyone working on crime related sites? - FreeRadical

I've been tinkering with the idea of creating a crime reporting site but haven't come across many start-ups in this space. I was wondering if anyone is doing or has done anything similar?
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ilamont
This mashup involves official crime data from the Chicago PD:

<http://chicago.everyblock.com/crime/>

Maps, charts, etc. ... but I don't see how it's monetized. They've expanded to
other cities recently (see list at bottom)

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FreeRadical
Thanks, my take is slightly different, I'm looking at lettings users report
crime anonymously, as opposed to aggregating official data.

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ErrantX
The question is what do you do with the data?

And where do you get cash?

If your working closely with the Police forces etc. I suppose they might show
an interest. But we work with police forces and I can tell you they are a pain
to convince on "new technology" :)

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FreeRadical
I was thinking more along the lines of a social enterprise, maybe grant
supported.

Local councils (here in the UK) may be more welcoming.

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ErrantX
The problem I forsee there is faked reports and it providing a forum for
neighbourhood disputes.

Any attempt to produce "crime figures/data" for an area might be subject to a
lot of bias.

(not that I think it's a bad idea; just some thoughts thatr occurred to me)

Why not give it a shot: if there is no one in the sector it doesn't mean it is
a dead end :D (it might mean it is a tough climb though)

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FreeRadical
I think the crime reporting would have to be anonymous, and maybe find a way
to match similar instances (from different witnesses)

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yan
Always found it interesting, but haven't worked on it. Only thing that comes
to mind are EveryBlock's(.com) crime sections.

