How do thousands of messy crime reports get transformed into clear insights that help communities and businesses make smarter, safer decisions?

In this episode of the Geography of Crime podcast, host Dr. Grant Drawve talks with Emily Blackburn, CAP Index’s Director of Geospatial Crime Solutions. Emily shares her career journey from investigating Medicaid fraud to analyzing crime patterns for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, and now leading innovative data solutions at CAP Index.

During her 15 years with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, Emily worked with everything from street crime to major case analysis. That experience gave her a front-row seat to the challenges of collecting, cleaning, and interpreting crime data. Now, she brings those lessons to CAP Index, where she helps turn complex datasets into actionable intelligence for clients across the country.

You will learn about:

•  The importance of asking the right questions in crime analysis
•  The challenges of working with messy, inconsistent crime data
•  Why every statistic represents real people and communities
•  The biggest frustrations with crime data today
•  Emily’s advice for aspiring analysts

Emily also reflects on memorable investigations such as Operation Dirty Dozen, a Medicaid fraud case that still stands out in her career. She explains how her time at the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department shaped her perspective on the gap between public perceptions of crime and the realities revealed by data.

Special thanks to our host, Dr. Grant Drawve. Connect with him via email or LinkedIn. 

Explore CAP's Research and Innovation Team here.

Want to learn more about CAP Index? Visit our website or connect with us on LinkedIn.