Why you can trust this, and where it stops
1. Where the data comes from
Every incident on this page is a record published by a police department in its public open data portal. We do not add, remove or edit records.
2. Check it yourself
- Click any dot on the map, then use Raw police record to see that record exactly as the department publishes it.
- Ask the data server for the record count ↗. It should match the number in the header, give or take records added since this page loaded.
- and open it in a spreadsheet.
3. What we do with it
Each map view asks the police data server live for only the area you are looking at, covering the period you choose (yesterday up to the last year), always ending at the newest record. Nothing is saved on your computer except your filter choices.
The heatmap only smooths the department's points so clusters are easy to see. Dots are the individual records, placed where the department geocoded them. A rating compares a spot with every 200 m spot in the urban part of the same city, using the same filters, so it only ever means "compared with this city." Incidents count more when they are more serious:
4. What it cannot tell you
- Records are preliminary and unverified, and a department may reclassify them later. Departments do not guarantee their accuracy or timeliness.
- Only crimes that were reported and recorded appear.
- Counts reflect where people report and where police patrol, not just where crime happens. A quiet map is not a guarantee of safety.
- Different cities define and count crimes differently, so do not compare one city's numbers with another's.
- Lighting, foot traffic and time of day matter and are not fully captured here. Trust your instincts.
RunSafe is an independent project. It is not made, checked or endorsed by any police department or city.