Crime Data Reporting Tips from Experts

Journalists learn how to use new crime data repository and identify trends despite federal funding cuts

Published on Feb. 12, 2026

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A recent webinar featured insights from criminal justice researchers and reporters on how to effectively cover crime data, including using the new Gun Violence Data Hub, finding reliable data sources as federal funding has been cut, and fact-checking statements from public officials.

Why it matters

With federal funding for public safety research and data collection being slashed, journalists covering crime and gun violence need new tools and strategies to find trustworthy data and identify meaningful trends beyond just official crime statistics.

The details

The webinar highlighted three main components of the Gun Violence Data Hub from The Trace: a help desk for journalists and researchers, a resources page with fact sheets and guides, and a data library with 21 datasets from various government agencies. However, the state of federally sponsored gun research has deteriorated, with over $500 million in grants canceled in 2025. Researchers are increasingly relying on philanthropic and state/local funding, which is highly competitive. Reporters were advised to use alternative data sources like the CDC's WONDER database, the Washington Post's police shootings database, and local police department data, while being cautious of potential discrepancies or omissions in official statistics.

  • In April 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice canceled about $500 million in grants for many public safety initiatives, including more than $60 million for research, evaluation and data collection.
  • Shortly before President Donald Trump was inaugurated for a second term, the CDC launched a dashboard mapping violent death rates across the country by Census tract, county or state.

The players

Jeffrey A. Butts

A research professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Executive Director of the John Jay Research and Evaluation Center.

Mensah M. Dean

A staff writer at The Trace, a nonprofit newsroom that covers gun violence, covering policies and solutions related to gun violence in the Philadelphia metropolitan area.

George LeVines

Editor of The Trace's Gun Violence Data Hub, which is open to the public and aims to be the 'single most reliable and expansive resource for gun violence in the U.S.'

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What they’re saying

“The state of federally sponsored gun research is really poor right now.”

— Jeffrey A. Butts, Research Professor, John Jay College of Criminal Justice (journalistsresource.org)

“If anything looks suspicious or hanky, unless you can get someone on the phone to explain that to you, I would highly recommend that you not use those numbers.”

— Mensah M. Dean, Staff Writer, The Trace (journalistsresource.org)

What’s next

Reporters covering crime and public safety should continue to monitor the Gun Violence Data Hub and other alternative data sources as federal funding for this research remains limited.

The takeaway

With the withdrawal of significant federal funding for criminal justice research and data collection, journalists must be more proactive in finding reliable data sources, fact-checking official statements, and identifying meaningful trends beyond just reported crime statistics to effectively cover public safety issues in their communities.