Pittsburgh launches crime data portal
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Pittsburgh is launching a new dashboard that will allow residents to see an overview of criminal activity across the city.
Pittsburgh Public Safety said the Police Data Portal will allow users to filter information by police zone, neighborhood, crime type and date.
No personally identifying information is attached to any incidents and no specific addresses will be made public because all locations have been masked to block-level. Violent sexual crimes have also been excluded, Public Safety said.
"By making comprehensive crime data publicly available and easily accessible, residents are better informed about their own neighborhoods, the city as a whole, and the work of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police. As Chief, I am committed to driving accountability through transparency and the Police Data Portal is another building block toward that goal," said Pittsburgh Police Chief Larry Scirotto in a news release.
Public Safety said the timeframe for the data is year-to-date for 2023 and will be manually updated on a monthly basis between the first and fifth.
As the bureau transitions to a new records management system, the city said its goal is to establish as close to a real-time data feed as possible, which would allow for more frequent or automatic updates.
The information is collected from Pittsburgh police's records management system, which stores all records of reported criminal activity. The data is gathered from police reports, which are formal documents detailing criminal incidents that were brought to law enforcement's attention. Police reports aren't the same as calls for service records. So while reports may be filed as a result of a call for service, Pittsburgh Public Safety said not all calls result in police reports.
Crime in Pittsburgh has become a major issue in Allegheny County's battle for district attorney. Current District Attorney Stephen Zappala, who is running as a Republican after losing the Democratic primary to challenger and former Chief Public Defender Matt Dugan, said the city is spiking in crime because of the mayor's policies that won't allow police to do their jobs. Gainey has rejected Zappala's characterization, saying he's focused on improving the city and won't be involved in political rhetoric.
