The most common data visualization that the Police Department utilizes (that is able to be discussed) is crime reports containing crime statistics. Usually, this type of information is gathered by the department's crime analyst at each district. The analyst gathers data regarding crimes in the district to analyze and evaluate. This is done to determine patterns, trends, criminal activity increase/decrease, etc. This information helps the department create strategies to reduce and prevent crimes. This information is also helpful throughout the investigative process and assists officers with the apprehension of offenders. This data is utilized to draw conclusions, make resource recommendations, and make decisions on staffing deployment.

These crime reports initially may specify the police district, comparison time, offense type, and time period. The first column lists the offenses included on the chart which consists of homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, human trafficking, burglary, theft, motor vehicle theft, arson, non-fatal shootings, and carjackings. The next two columns consist of the total number of times each incident occurred during the years of 2022 and 2023, followed by a column that shows the percentage change in the occurrence of each offense between the two years. The three following columns show the year-to-date offense occurrences between 2022, 2023, and 2024. The percentage change in year-to-date occurrences of each offense is displayed in the next two columns. The percentage changes represent the year-to-date change for 2022-2024 and 2023-2024. The last three columns of the chart corelate to the comparison time frame. The first column in this section represents the difference in the number of that particular offense between February 6, 2024 and March 4, 2024. The second column in this section represents the difference in the number of occurrences between March 5, 2024 and April 1, 2024. The last column on this chart represents the percentage change in the offense occurrences between those two time frames.

For an example, I'll explain the first row, which provides information regarding a homicide. The chart shows that in 2022 there were 215 homicides and in 2023 there were 171 homicides, this results in a 20% decrease in homicides from 2022 to 2023. The chart shows a year-to-date 2022 homicide occurrence of 50, a year-to-date 2023 homicide occurrence of 38, and a year-to-date 2024 homicide occurrence of 24. The following column shows that the number of homicides decreased by 52% between 2022 and 2024. The next column displays that the number of homicides decreased by 37% between 2023 and 2024. The chart then displays that 7 homicides occurred between February 6, 2024 and March 4, 2024. The following column shows that 4 homicides occurred between March 5, 2024 and April 1, 2024. The last column on the chart shows a 43% decrease in homicides between those two time frames (February 6, 2024 - March 4, 2024 and March 5, 2024 - April 1, 2024). This data can also be compared with other offenses. If considering the data for homicides, this type of offense results in a victim being killed; when compared to the data for non-fatal shootings (victims were shot but not killed) in the city, the values are much higher. For example, according to the chart, in 2023 there were 171 homicides and 838 non-fatal shootings in our city, huge difference in data. All of the data on the chart can be examined, compared, and utilized to help crime reduction.