Researchers say St. Louis PD is not releasing crime data as required by law.

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The St. Louis Police Department has been accused of withholding crime data that could prove to be a valuable resource for research. In 2020, St. Louis University sociology professor Ness Sandoval and graduate student Tara Smith published a joint study that looked at the impact of the investment of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency in north St. Louis, and whether or not it would lead to an increase in crime.

The study relied on crime data from the St. Louis Police Department, which had been accessible on its website for over a decade. However, in December of 2020, the police department suddenly stopped publishing this data, leaving Sandoval and Smith unable to complete their study.

"What's frustrating is that the data exists," said Sandoval. "This data belongs to the public. It's a public good." The police have continued to use the data internally, but are not making it available to the public.

The St. Louis police have attributed this sudden change to the escalating crime rate in 2020, as well as a major technology transition. In spite of this, multiple researchers have attempted to access the data through public records requests, and have had no success. The Post-Dispatch has discovered, however, that this data is still being shared with certain insiders.

For instance, Washington University's Institute for Public Health has been looking at the efficacy of the St. Louis Cure Violence initiative, which is attempting to reduce gun violence through resident intervention. The St. Louis Police Department provided the necessary geographic data for this project, but the circumstances of the collaboration were kept under wraps by the city's health commissioner and the health department spokesperson.

Brandon Fox, who conducted his own study about vacancy and criminal violence in St. Louis between 2018 and 2019, has voiced his disappointment in the police department's decision to stop releasing data. He claims that this data is essential in understanding how crime is distributed.

Once a leader in providing open data, St. Louis has since taken a step back, much to the dismay of many researchers. Sandoval expressed his disappointment in the situation, saying, "The city has fallen far behind where other cities are today."

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