Hot Trends watch: SpotCrime

Apparently quite a few people were concerned about crime today. Searches for "Spot Crime" hit No. 7 on Google's Hot Trends this morning.

The term led searchers to SpotCrime.com, which lists street crimes committed in many U.S. cities (and even London) and lays them out on a Google map mash-up. Some of the information is pulled from public records; others come from databases like the LA Times' own Homicide Report (which also has a map plotting homicides).

SpotCrime lets you filter violations into nine categories including arrests, arsons, burglary and vandalism. The section for Los Angeles lists 300 offenses since June 29, including four shootings and two stabbings in the last couple of days and almost 50 thefts at the beginning of July.

SpotCrime's blog highlights disturbing periods of crime in certain cities, and Los Angeles garners a post for shootings in a six-month stretch.

That's probably not the proudest recognition the city has received. No worries, though. We're also the most polluted, third most congested and seventh most miserable city.

Hey, at least we're not Detroit.

-- Mark Milian