Imported incidents
7,855,000
Raw Chicago incidents currently stored in the database.
About
About CrimeAtlas and its data sources
CrimeAtlas presents city crime data as a public-data explorer rather than a news product. The current Chicago build catalogs 3 official datasets, 7,855,000 imported incidents, and 77 community area pages.
Tracked categories
34
Primary crime categories with route coverage.
Community areas
77
Chicago community area records used for local pages.
Source datasets
3
Official datasets currently cataloged in the MVP.
Context
What the site is trying to do
Additional reading notes to help interpret the statistics on this page.
The app is structured for additional city adapters, but Chicago is the only city currently published in the production pages.
Each page links back to source datasets, timestamps the latest refresh, and keeps the tone descriptive rather than speculative.
The current Chicago catalog includes 34 tracked primary crime categories and 77 community area records.
Product direction
CrimeAtlas is positioned as a geography and statistics product rather than a news feed or alert service.
CrimeAtlas is built as a fast, crawlable MVP that starts with Chicago and expands through additional city adapters instead of city-specific one-off code.
The app uses Sinatra, PostgreSQL, Sequel, and server-rendered HTML to keep the deployment model small and predictable.
Pages are written in a neutral factual tone and include direct source attribution, methodology notes, and stable URLs for long-tail search coverage.
Current data scope
The first live city is Chicago, with the data model and importer structure prepared for future expansion.
Chicago incidents import through a real Socrata adapter with resumable checkpoints and idempotent upserts.
Community area pages are backed by official community area boundaries because the incidents feed includes community area codes directly.
The separate neighborhood boundary file is cataloged as a source reference for future polygon-specific expansion.
Important context
Methodology and caveats
These pages summarize reported public records. Use source notes and methodology before drawing comparisons.
CrimeAtlas republishes and aggregates official public records rather than producing original incident reporting.
Counts can change as source systems revise classifications, locations, or related case details.
The site is designed for informational reference and should not be treated as a substitute for local expertise or official guidance.
Read the methodology page for pipeline details and the about page for source notes.
Sources
Official data sources
CrimeAtlas is built from public datasets published by city agencies. Each page links back to the underlying source and the latest import timestamp.
socrata dataset
Chicago community areas
Publisher: City of Chicago
Dataset ID: igwz-8jzy
Refresh cadence: Updated as needed
Last imported: March 12, 2026
socrata dataset
Chicago crime incidents
Publisher: Chicago Police Department
Dataset ID: ijzp-q8t2
Refresh cadence: Daily
Last imported: March 12, 2026
socrata file
Chicago neighborhood boundaries reference
Publisher: City of Chicago
Dataset ID: 9wp7-iasj
Refresh cadence: Legacy file dataset
Last imported: Not available
Explore more
Related pages
Move between citywide, map, category, neighborhood, and year-specific routes with descriptive internal links.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Short answers about data coverage, definitions, and how to read these pages.
Where does the data come from?
CrimeAtlas currently uses City of Chicago open data, especially the Chicago Police Department incidents dataset and official boundary datasets published on the city portal.
Why are neighborhood pages based on community areas?
Chicago’s incidents feed includes official community area codes, so the MVP uses those stable geographies for aggregation, slug stability, and clear source alignment.