As the largest geolocator of crime data in the U.S., SpotCrime uses Google’s dynamic map and other APIs to precisely display crime locations.
BUSINESS CHALLENGE
Founded in 2007, SpotCrime is a crime data aggregator with a goal to provide the most accurate, timely geocoded crime information to the public. Collecting data from police departments and verified news reports, SpotCrime released one of the first iOS-based applications. While this service was a priority, the team didn’t want to spend excessive time, money and resources building its own mapping infrastructure.
BENEFITS
“In terms of mapping products, Google Maps Platform outperforms the others. When finding a location, they provide the most accurate and up-to-date data which is crucial to our work.”
WORKING WITH WOOLPERT
Based on Google’s recommendation, the SpotCrime team began working with Woolpert Digital Innovations in 2021. Since then, SpotCrime has been pleased with the quality of Woolpert Digital Innovation’s customer service and expertise.
“The initial reason we came to Woolpert Digital Innovations was to reduce costs, but their personalization is an added touch. Being able to call our customer success manager, knowing they always have our best interest is all I can ask for,” stated SpotCrime Founder, Colin Drane.
THE SOLUTION
When SpotCrime was evaluating mapping solutions, Google Maps Platform was the obvious choice thanks to its extensive feature set and easily customizable interface. SpotCrime relies on GMP to deliver accurate, location-based and real-time information and data analytics, to the public.
“No one compares to what Google provides, even at their current price point. Historically, Google has always innovated faster, their interface is fast, familiar and easy,” explained SpotCrime Founder, Colin Drane.
More crimes are identified by SpotCrime than anyone else, even the FBI. Using the Geocoding API, SpotCrime can pinpoint the exact location (with precise coordinates) of a crime on a map. Once a location is identified, an alert is presented, accompanied by Google’s dynamic map to precisely display that location. Assets are displayed on Google’s familiar dynamic map, which is customized to reflect SpotCrime’s branding and preferred display settings.
SpotCrime leverages the Places API by identifying a prominent, high-risk point-of-interest. SpotCrime uses the autocomplete feature to give both its mobile app and web version the autofill behavior of the Google Maps search field. The autocomplete service can match full words and substrings to quickly resolve place names, addresses, and plus codes. Speed is key for SpotCrime to alert the public, and autocomplete is a crucial feature in decreasing response time.
