Archive for the ‘D.C.’ Category

The San Jose Police Department has begun adding crime incidents within the past month to the crime mapping site CrimeReports. The data is maintained for about 30 days so it’s research value is limited. There appear to be 3 other police departments that are uploading data and their archiving may differ. Washington D.C. police have retained crime activity reports for 2006 and 2007. Search by date or address, with an optional selection of crime type, to see a map with icons of the various reported crimes and their general location. A popup provides a description of the incident.

On the crime theme, VineLink has a new look but the basic features are the same. It still doesn’t list the participating jails and prisons, so you just have to figure that out when you search within a state or county. The opening page has a color coded map of the U.S., designating states that have “statewide VINE” (blue) and those in which some counties participate (kinda red). As in all criminal records matters “statewide” doesn’t mean the whole state. Gee, who would’ve thought! In the case of California, it means about 15 counties and, as all of us here know, it does not include the Department of Corrections.

Go to MapBuilder if you want an easy utility to create your own map themes and plot places, incidents and things. See the variety of maps that users have built and search by map places and other characteristics.

The Washington District of Colombia Police Department launched its interactive crime mapping Web site, which pinpoints major crimes by geographical region. No exact addresses are shown.

An opinion from the California Attorney General limiting information that can be released by prosecutors on arrestees will affect reporting on crime but just confirms the California Public Records Act provisions regarding release of records.

In response to a public records request, a prosecutor may not produce records from a computerized data base that disclose: (1) whether a recently charged or soon-to-be charged defendant is currently on probation or parole, and details of his or her prior offenses; (2) an individual’s criminal history in the county, including all arrests and case dispositions; (3) the disposition of matters referred to the district attorney for filing of criminal charges; (4) criminal histories associated with a requested list of cases in which a specified witness has testified; or (5) numerous criminal histories associated with a request for the names and identities of all defendants charged with a specific kind of crime over a period of years. With respect to category (3) and in rare circumstances category (1), however, a prosecutor is required to make public certain limited current information derived from records in the prosecutor’s investigatory files.

Due to changes in the Freedom of Information Law in New Jersey, it is now possible to submit a request for government agency records by email.

The National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) discovered that Superior Court Chief Judge Rufus King ordered the removal of dates of birth from the criminal index. No formal order has been issued.

Yesterday, the Superior Court, District of Columbia, began removing dates of birth from its criminal index system. Now, the electronic court index lists only names and case numbers, with a blank column for the dates of birth. The court index, which encompasses cases as far back as 1978, is rendered virtually useless for background screening or criminal case verification.

The unfounded concern for identity theft is cited by other courts as the basis for truncating or removing the date of birth information from public records.

Direct your concerns to Judge King:

The Honorable Rufus G. King III
Chief Judge
Superior Court, District of Columbia
500 Indiana Ave. #3500
Washington, DC 20016

202-879-1600 (tel)
202-879-7830 (fax)

UPDATE: June 28: The court has temporarily reinstated the date of birth field in the criminal index, pending further consideration.