The day I realized the local paper's police blotter was doing my job for free

I used to pay 40 bucks a month for a crime stats service. Then last Tuesday I read our town's police blotter, the one nobody reads, and it had every call from the last 3 days. Not just the big stuff, but the odd ones like a raccoon in a dumpster and a porch light flickering. I spent 2 hours cross checking it against the service and they matched 100%. I felt like a total fool. The paper has been publishing this forever and I never checked. Why pay for data when the source is handed to you? Has anyone else found that the boring local sections are actually the best intel?

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1 Comment

fiona_kim976h ago

Got burned the same way with a neighborhood watch newsletter nobody reads. Found out it listed every stolen plate and smashed window two weeks before my paid feed updated, and it's free. These tiny local write ups are gold for anyone who actually looks past the front page.