Privacy and Your Report
This article explains how Crime Hotspots handles data submitted through the Report a Crime and Submit a Safety Tip forms.
What we collect
When you submit a report or tip, we collect only:
- The information you enter in the form fields
- A CAPTCHA token (Cloudflare Turnstile) to prevent automated spam — this does not identify you
We do not require an account, email address, or any identifying information to submit. If you do not provide contact details, your submission is fully anonymous on our end.
What we publish
We never publish:
- Your name, contact information, or any details that could identify you as the submitter
- Full names of victims or witnesses without their consent (we use first names or initials only, matching how the original media source reported the incident)
- Full names of suspects who have not been officially charged or named by police
What we do publish:
- Verified incident details: crime type, date, area, brief description
- A link back to the original media source (if one exists)
How long we retain data
Unverified or rejected reports are retained in our internal database for 90 days for reference, then deleted. Verified, published incidents are retained indefinitely as part of the public record.
Claim codes and My Reports
When you submit a report, flag a story issue, or audit a crime record, you receive a claim code (e.g. TT-20260713-A3F9). This code is:
- Stored in your browser’s localStorage under the key
ch_my_reports— it never leaves your device unless you share the URL - Used to check status at
/status/{code}/or via the/my-reports/page - Not linked to any account, name, or email on our end
If you clear your browser data, you will lose access to your claim codes. We have no way to retrieve them for you.
Push notifications
If you opt in to push notifications on the report confirmation screen, we store your browser’s push subscription endpoint in our database alongside your claim code. This is used only to notify you when your report status changes. You can unsubscribe at any time from the bell icon in the header.
Third-party tools
The Report a Crime form uses Cloudflare Turnstile for spam prevention. Turnstile does not set cookies and does not track users across sites. See Cloudflare’s privacy policy for details.
Your rights
You may contact us to:
- Request removal of a specific published record
- Correct inaccurate details in a published record
- Ask what information we hold from a submission
Contact us via the Contact page. We respond to data-related requests within 5 business days.
Children
We do not knowingly collect information from individuals under 16. If you believe a submission was made by a minor, contact us immediately.
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