Open Government Data and Public Criminology

• In Event: Crime and Place: Open Data and Open Science in Studying Crime and Place

Abstract

The expansion of open government data over the last few years has improved government transparency and accountability. However, open government data has fallen far short of empowering citizens to enable public sector reform. Citizens often do not have the background and skills to interpret and contextualize data for public benefit. Open government data provides unique opportunities for criminologists to engage effectively with the public and media about crime and crime policy. The Irvine Laboratory for the Study of Space and Crime is a pioneer in the utilization and contextualization of open crime data for public consumption. This presentation highlights several projects by ILSSC that employ open government data to communicate with the public about crime concentration effectively. ILSSC produces novel insights about the community context of crime, at a variety of spatial scales, by infusing the grand scope of open government data with cutting edge geospatial and statistical methods. The research findings are distributed over a range of innovative platforms, thanks to the interoperability of open government data. Open government data is an invaluable tool in our mission to boost public engagement, discovery, and transformation about crime in their community. cities simultaneously.

Authors

• Kevin Pedraza, University of California, Irvine

• Christopher Jay Bates, University of California, Irvine

• John R Hipp, University of California, Irvine

• Charis E. Kubrin, University of California, Irvine

• Young-an Kim, University of California, Irvine