Nonprofits are becoming aware that crime analytics isn’t only for government agencies, and embracing crime data doesn’t mean becoming (or employing) data analysts. Strengthening your advocacy with solid, relevant data enables running evidence-based advocacy campaigns. In return, this is guaranteed to make your case more compelling to both stakeholders and policymakers. In the following text, we will demonstrate how Social Explorer can help empower your nonprofit advocacy campaigns and drive policy change with comprehensive crime data. 

Harness Crime Data with Social Explorer

The big data challenge here is actually acquiring crime data that is timely, granular, and accurate in terms of scale. Social Explorer’s expert data team builds custom datasets that serve your cause.

Data Accuracy

For instance, not all crime data available is relevant to certain nonprofits. If you look at it, sometimes the crime statistics refer to state or zip code level, but not all locations are equally crime-ridden. For instance, in 2022, the State of New Mexico has a homicide death rate of 14.5, but certain counties or cities like Corrales have much lower rates. At SE, we are well aware of all the intricacies that make our data accurate.

Data Timeliness

Federal data usually lags by two to three years, and conditions may have changed by the time the data becomes available. Social Explorer works by acquiring the most recent data from multiple sources while applying various data analytics methodologies to enhance its value. 

Make Strategic Decisions with Granular Data

Local police departments frequently do not have the capacity to gather and present granular crime statistics, creating challenges for non-profit organizations when analyzing the data. Granular data helps pinpoint where advocacy efforts will be most effective. Data relevancy mostly lies in the granularity, and this is where Social Explorer excels. Our procedure will entail:

• acquiring the latest and most relevant crime data from multiple sources

• imputation based on state data or lower

• augmenting by key demographic elements

This way, Social Explorer will be able to acquire, orchestrate, and enrich the available data in ways no government agency can currently provide.

Social Explorer is working on developing a national crime database containing data at national, state, county, tract, and even block group levels. Unlike federal data, which are commonly delayed by two to three years, Social Explorer data will be current and up-to-date with the most recent stats.

How Nonprofits Benefit from SE Crime Data Analytics

Social Explorer will allow you to delve into specific geographical data, which has proven crucial for implementing precise crime prevention tactics.

This will empower nonprofits to:

• Access the most current data available: Work with datasets unavailable at other sources or any government agency

• Delve Deep into Crime Patterns: Identify specific areas with high incidence rates.

• Combine Data with Demographics: Uncover underlying factors like age, income, and education.

E.g., an organization tackling opioid-related crimes can pinpoint neighborhoods with the highest incident rates. Combining this with demographic insights might reveal underlying factors fueling the issue. 

Influence Evidence-Based Policy Change

Data insights from Social Explorer already shed light on trends that generic datasets might overlook. By overlaying crime data with variables such as unemployment rates, school dropout rates, and housing conditions, nonprofits could present a multidimensional case to policymakers. 

If a community is grappling with complex issues, Social Explorer's crime data analytics will enable nonprofits to demonstrate a thorough understanding of many critical factors:

1. Identify Specific Issues: Pinpoint the exact problems affecting a community so you can focus your advocacy where it's needed most.

2. Uncover Root Causes: Understand why these issues exist by linking crime data with factors like unemployment or education, allowing you to address the underlying problems.

3. Know Who's Affected: Determine which groups of people are most impacted so you can tailor your programs to those who need them most.

4. Understand Community Makeup: Learn about the community's demographics to create interventions that fit their unique characteristics.

5. Gauge Community Attitudes: Infer likely values and behaviors to communicate more effectively and design appropriate solutions.

6. Spot Problem Areas: Identify geographic hotspots where issues are concentrated to direct resources efficiently.

7. Track Changes Over Time: Monitor trends to see if your efforts are working and adjust strategies as needed.

8. See How Factors Interact: Understand how different issues are connected to develop comprehensive solutions.

9. Contextualize Issues: Place crime data within the broader social and economic context to advocate for systemic change.

10. Expose Inequalities: Highlight disparities affecting certain groups to push for fairer policies.

11. Find Resource Gaps: Identify where services are lacking so you can advocate for necessary resources.

12. Leverage Community Strengths: Recognize existing assets in the community to build on what's already working.

13. Consider External Influences: Understand how outside factors impact the community to address broader issues.

14. Compare with Others: Use benchmarks from other communities to strengthen your advocacy and learn from success stories.

15. Customize Solutions: Tailor your interventions to specific groups for greater effectiveness and impact.

Enhance Credibility with Policymakers And Stakeholders

Policymakers will be more inclined to act when presented with compelling, detailed evidence. Social Explorer enables nonprofits to create tailored reports and visualizations by using our features, such as:

• Heat Maps: Highlighting spikes in domestic violence incidents.

• Trend Graphs: Showing increases in burglary rates over time.

• Interactive Mapping: Allowing users to zoom, pan, and explore multiple data layers dynamically for in-depth analysis.

• Demographic Overlays: Combine crime data with demographic variables like age, income, and education to uncover deeper insights.

• Custom Dashboards: Generate tailored dashboard reports that focus on specific data points relevant to your advocacy efforts.

• Time-Lapse Mapping: Animate maps over selected time periods to illustrate trends and changes in data over time.

• GIS Integration: Integrate with Geographic Information Systems for advanced spatial analysis and layering of additional data.

• Data Filtering and Querying: Apply filters to focus on particular variables or geographic areas, refining the data to your specific needs.

• Storytelling Tools: Craft narratives by adding annotations, notes, and multimedia elements directly onto maps.

• Collaboration Features: Share projects with team members or stakeholders to collaborate and gather feedback in real time.

• And others.

Provide localized data and position your nonprofit as a knowledgeable and credible partner in policy discussions. 

Social Explorer's interactive maps and dashboards enhance stakeholder engagement by vividly illustrating issues to:

• Community Members: Raising awareness and mobilizing action.

• Donors and Partners: Demonstrating need and impact to secure support.

Even Nonprofits That Don’t Focus on Crime Will Benefit From Crime Data

Crime data is valuable for gaining important insights. These insights can be used to support various sectors such as businesses, education, recreation, sports, and other areas that may be impacted by public safety concerns.

Also, nonprofit organizations do not exclusively target policymakers. They can also generate public interest and influence local, state, or federal actions. As a result, crime data is an essential resource for nonprofit advocacy in various fields, allowing them to study, comprehend, and respond to the requirements of their communities.

Measure and Demonstrate Impact

For nonprofit advocacy, showing real results is key to building trust and gaining support. Crime data will help measure the success of advocacy efforts and ensure stakeholders' accountability.

Setting clear goals and KPIs lets organizations monitor their impact. For example, a nonprofit aiming to cut burglary rates by 20% in a neighborhood can use detailed crime data to track progress month by month. Pre- and post-intervention analysis helps nonprofits refine strategies based on what works.

Being open about results builds trust with donors and the community. By sharing data visualizations and progress updates, nonprofits can highlight both successes and areas for improvement. 

Build Your Crime Dataset With Social Explorer

According to a 2023 Salesforce Nonprofit Trends Report, data-driven nonprofits grow 5x faster because they can identify where to place resources for the greatest impact.

As we’ve shown, data-driven advocacy is no longer an option—it’s essential for nonprofits aiming to influence public policy and enact social change. By harnessing the power of precise, granular crime data, organizations can craft compelling narratives that resonate with policymakers, donors, and communities.

Being equipped with detailed, relevant data makes all the difference between anecdotal claims and authoritative arguments. It positions nonprofits as informed, credible partners in policy discussions and legislative processes, opening doors to collaborations, media coverage, and funding opportunities. 

Whether advocating for resources to address youth violence or shaping policies around community safety, the insights gained through Social Explorer’s platform are transformative.

Social Explorer has profound experience in powering data-intensive nonprofit advocacy efforts. With SE, non-profit organizations can dramatically improve their data access and securely share data between local, state, and national agencies without having to handle data on their own. 

Social Explorer tackles the security and privacy issues related to external data access by allowing local administrators to share only approved data, thus upholding robust data governance and lineage.

Contact us and schedule a meeting with our data experts today.