{"id":391,"date":"2018-10-12T10:55:07","date_gmt":"2018-10-12T10:55:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.duke.edu\/9thstreetjournal\/?p=391"},"modified":"2023-03-27T15:51:09","modified_gmt":"2023-03-27T15:51:09","slug":"app-steers-you-away-from-durhams-crime-but-does-it-spark-fear-and-magnify-social-divisions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2018\/10\/12\/app-steers-you-away-from-durhams-crime-but-does-it-spark-fear-and-magnify-social-divisions\/","title":{"rendered":"App steers you away from Durham’s crime; but does it spark fear and magnify social divisions?"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Parlour in downtown Durham is a happy place where the line for ice cream often overflows out the door. Children enjoy their cones on the plaza outside and chase each other around the city\u2019s landmark bull statue as their parents look on.<\/span><\/p>\n Those parents probably don\u2019t know they\u2019re about 16 times more likely to be robbed and eight times more likely to be murdered on that plaza than the national average. At least, that\u2019s what it says in Crime and Place, a remarkable new iPhone app that tells you the risk of crime for your location.<\/span><\/p>\n Sorry for ruining dessert.<\/span><\/p>\n Crime and Place calculates the likelihood of murder, rape and assorted other crimes by distilling reams of data from the FBI\u2019s Uniform Crime Reports. It simplifies that data into a score from 1 to 10 for every census block group in the United States. The app uses maps and a \u201cCrime Compass\u201d with shades of red, orange, yellow and green that tells users not only how safe they are, but \u00a0essentially how to escape high-crime areas.<\/span><\/p>\n That approach bothers some policy experts, including Robert Korstad, a Duke professor of public policy and history who has researched Durham extensively, and Martine Aurelien, policy fellow at the North Carolina Justice Center. They say the app has some useful features but fails to account for fluctuations in crime during different seasons and times of day. They\u2019re also concerned that it can reinforce stereotypes about race and crime and that it fails to account for users\u2019 race and gender, which influences how likely they are to be the victim of crimes.<\/span><\/p>\n Korstad called the app \u201cboth impressive and horrifying.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n Pointing you to safety<\/b><\/p>\n For just $15 plus $5 for a year\u2019s worth of data, Crime and Place will tell you where the crime is. <\/span><\/p>\n As you drive through Durham (or any other city), the app\u2019s compass changes colors, giving you an escape route to get away from the bad guys. Drive around Durham and you\u2019ll see it go from green (\u201clow\u201d) to yellow (\u201caverage\u201d) to light orange (\u201celevated\u201d) to red (\u201chigh\u201d). When areas of the compass start to turn yellow or green, you can follow them to escape to safety. (For more details, see A trip through Durham with the Crime Compass.<\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n The app\u2019s user manual offers some advice for road trips: \u201cTry to stop for gas, meals, etc. when the compass shows green. Avoid stopping when the compass shows red.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n