By Grant Drawve
After years spanning multiple levels of academia—from undergraduate and graduate training to postdoctoral research, faculty appointments, and leading a research lab—I’ve seen firsthand that successful research projects depend on reliable and complete data. I have also seen how difficult it can be to find that kind of data, especially for students and early-career researchers working with limited resources or tight timelines.
Those experiences stayed with me when I joined CAP Index. Over time, I realized that we were in a position to help. We work with a rich array of complex public safety and security data every day, and our team understands both the academic and applied sides of research. I approached our CEO, President, and Founder, Steve Aurand, to look at how we could support research in a meaningful way. Steve immediately saw the vision and the potential impact. Having originated CAP Index while affiliated with the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, he understood the data challenges researchers face and valued maintaining strong ties to the academic community, which made him quickly supportive of the idea.
That conversation led to the creation of CAP Index – Data for Good, an initiative designed to support academic and policy research. Through this effort, our team volunteers time and expertise to provide access to curated datasets, technical guidance, and support in navigating research and publication standards. All data made available through the initiative are carefully curated for research purposes, and no confidential or customer data are ever shared.
I work with a team of brilliant crime data junkies, and we’re ready to open the doors to a bit of our madness. The goal is simple: help researchers spend less time hunting for usable data and more time doing meaningful work that advances understanding in criminology, public safety, security, and the social sciences. Call it disciplined chaos: organized, methodical, and relentless in pursuit of data that’s truly usable.
How You Can Help
I know that many of you reading this article, as professionals in the security and public safety space, mentor students, teach courses, or maintain ties to academic programs. If you know someone studying criminology, public safety, security, or a related field who may benefit from this initiative, I encourage you to share this with them.
To learn more about Data for Good, or to submit a request, visit Data for Good.
Read what CAP’s President, CEO & Co-founder had to say about the initiative.
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