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With tens of thousands of crimes in Los Angeles, the LAPD's crime map tool will never be 100% perfect, but missing 40% of all reported crimes is a far cry from being complete. Thanks to an LA Times investigation--the second about the LAPD's touted crime map--today we learn that 26 homicides, 137 rapes and over 10,000 other nonviolent thefts remain off map, but not intentionally says the LAPD.
It seems to be an error in the coding and although the police department resubmitted thousands of crimes and the website vendor in charge of the site said they fixed a glitch, reporters found that the missing crimes are still not there.
The map is intended to help residents in community policing, to spot trends and to be more aware of their neighborhood. Over 10,000 crimes missing is detrimental to that mission. $362,000 was paid for the online tool, but all of the money came privately, via the Los Angeles Police Foundation.
