Transparency & Methodology
Full transparency about how SafeNSound works β every data source, every weight, every limitation.
Data Sources
15 sources across crime, socioeconomic, and environmental categories.
FBI NIBRS Crime Data
Sex offenses and kidnapping/abduction crimes aggregated by state
Limitation: Aggregated by state only; not all agencies report to NIBRS
Sex Offender Registry (Aggregated)
Estimated registered sex offenders per 100,000 residents by state
Limitation: Estimates only; actual numbers may differ; aggregated at state level
Florida Sex Offender Registry
Individual registrant records aggregated to county level
Limitation: Only covers Florida; no individual data is displayed in the application
U.S. Census β Poverty Data
Percentage of families below the poverty line by state
Limitation: Poverty is a correlative indicator, not a direct safety measure
NCES School Data
Middle and high schools with location coordinates
Limitation: Does not include elementary schools or private institutions not in NCES
ICE Detention Centers
Locations of ICE detention facilities and documented protest sites
Limitation: Sample data; not a comprehensive list of all facilities
Retail & Commercial Locations (OpenStreetMap)
National inventory of retail chains: Walmart, GameStop, Hot Topic, Claire's, Sephora, Guitar Center, Baby Gap, Spencer's, McDonald's, vape/tobacco shops, shopping malls, and arcades sourced via Overpass API
Limitation: OSM coverage varies; some locations may be missing or have outdated data
Youth & Family Organizations (OpenStreetMap)
Boy Scouts, Boys & Girls Clubs chapters, daycares/childcare centers, and community centers sourced via Overpass API
Limitation: OSM coverage varies by region; private/unlisted organizations not included
Law Enforcement & Higher Education (OpenStreetMap)
Police stations/precincts and college/university campuses sourced via Overpass API
Limitation: Smaller/rural departments and community colleges may have lower OSM coverage
Scientology Organizations (OpenStreetMap)
Church of Scientology locations sourced via Overpass API
Limitation: Very low OSM coverage β many locations not tagged; data is incomplete
Parks & Recreation (OpenStreetMap)
Parks, playgrounds, and recreational spaces sourced via Overpass API
Limitation: OSM coverage varies by region; rural areas may be under-mapped
NOAA Storm Events Database
Severe weather events (tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, hail, high winds, etc.) aggregated by county with severity weighting
Limitation: Aggregated county-level event counts only; weighting is approximate and does not capture sub-county variation
FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer (NFHL)
FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) coverage percentage by county and state, derived from official flood maps
Limitation: Based on available FEMA flood maps; some areas lack detailed surveys and may be under- or over-estimated
EPA Toxic Release Inventory (TRI)
EPA-tracked industrial and federal facilities that report toxic chemical releases, aggregated by county
Limitation: Covers only facilities required or choosing to report under EPCRA Section 313; does not capture all pollution sources
Missing Persons Reports
Missing persons and kidnapping cases by county
Limitation: THIS IS SAMPLE DATA for demonstration. Not actual missing persons statistics.
Data Freshness
All data is static as of the dates below. SafeNSound scores reflect a snapshot β not a live feed. Crime patterns, registries, and facility inventories change over time. β = updated to latest available 2025 source.
| Source | Covers | As of |
|---|---|---|
| FBI NIBRS Crime Data | Violent crime by county | 2023 β |
| NSOPW Sex Offender Registry | Registered offenders by ZIP | Rolling (live) |
| FBI Missing Persons (NIBRS) | Missing persons by county | 2023 β |
| US Census ACS | Poverty rate by county | 2023 5-yr β |
| NCES School Locations | 44,000+ school coordinates | 2024β25 β |
| OSM / Google Places | Parks, daycares, playgrounds | 2025 |
| ICE Detention Facilities | 49 confirmed facility locations | 2025 |
| NOAA Storm Events | Severe weather density 2020β2025 | 2025 β |
| FEMA NFHL Flood Maps | Special Flood Hazard Area coverage | 2025 |
| EPA TRI Facilities | Industrial/chemical facility density | 2024 β |
| HUD Fair Market Rents | 2BR FMR by county (affordability) | FY 2025 β |
| EIA Electricity Prices | Residential Β’/kWh by state | 2025 JanβApr β |
| EIA Gasoline Prices | Retail $/gal by state | 2025 JanβMay β |
| EIA Home Heating | Oil & gas heating costs by state | 2024β25 season β |
| USDA Food Access Atlas | Low food access share by county | 2023 β |
| BLS Consumer Expenditure | Food & lifestyle costs by state | 2024 β |
| AWWA Water Rates | Residential water & sewer $/mo | 2025 survey β |
| IHRSA Gym Membership | Average gym cost by state | 2025 survey β |
How Scores Are Calculated
A weighted composite of eight normalized factors. Higher score = more risk.
Factor Weights
Normalization
Each factor is min-max normalized across all states before weighting:
Environmental Hazard Composite
The Environmental Hazard factor (10% weight) is itself a composite of three sub-signals, equally blended at the state level:
- βΊStorm Frequency β NOAA severe weather event density, 2019β2024
- βΊFlood Risk β FEMA SFHA coverage as % of county area
- βΊIndustrial Footprint β EPA TRI facility density per county
On the hex map, Storm History, Flood Risk, and Industrial Footprint are also independently toggleable filter layers at local resolution.
What the Scores Mean
Important Disclaimers
β’SafeNSound scores are statistical estimates for educational purposes only, not guarantees of safety or predictions of danger.
β’A low score does not mean an area is unsafe; a high score does not mean imminent danger exists.
β’This tool does not identify, target, or track any individuals. Sex offender density scores are aggregated at the county/state level.
β’Offender map pins represent registered sex offender counts aggregated by ZIP code β no individual names, photographs, or exact addresses are displayed.
β’Missing persons scores use FBI NIBRS kidnapping/abduction data normalized per 100k residents. County-level centroid pins are approximate geographic representations of county-level aggregates, not precise incident locations.
β’The time-of-day modifier is a general heuristic based on criminological research β not actual time-specific crime data for any location.
β’Environmental hazard scores (storm frequency, flood risk, industrial footprint) reflect historical and regulatory data, not current conditions or real-time alerts.
β’This tool is not a substitute for personal judgment, local knowledge, or law enforcement advice.
β’SafeNSound does not collect, store, or share any user location data.
Known Limitations
Geographic coverage gaps: Offender map pins use ZIP-code centroid coordinates for all states. Florida has the highest fidelity (individual registry records aggregated to ZIP). All state density scores use aggregate per-capita estimates.
Data coverage gaps: ICE detention site data covers a 49-location sample of confirmed facilities. OSM-sourced retail and POI data may have gaps in rural regions. Missing persons use FBI NIBRS aggregate data β county pin locations are centroids, not incident coordinates.
Environmental data resolution: NOAA storm and FEMA flood data are aggregated at the county level. EPA TRI covers only reporting facilities β not all industrial pollution sources. Sub-county variation is not captured.
No real-time data: All data is static as of the dates indicated. Crime patterns, flood maps, and facility inventories change over time.
Correlation vs. causation: Poverty rate is included as a correlative risk factor based on research. It does not imply that poverty causes crime or that impoverished areas are inherently dangerous.
Scoring model limitations: The weighting system reflects general research priorities but is not validated by an expert panel. Different weightings would produce different scores.
Bias & Fairness
Any data-driven scoring system can reflect and potentially amplify existing biases in the underlying data.
Crime statistics may be influenced by reporting practices, enforcement patterns, and systemic factors that disproportionately affect certain communities. A higher score does not necessarily mean an area is more dangerous β it may reflect differences in data collection and reporting.
Environmental hazard layers reflect regulatory tracking and historical weather records. Industrial facility placement has historically correlated with socioeconomic disparities; we present this data as informational context, not as a judgment about any community.
SafeNSound is designed to inform, not to label. We do not target any individuals, groups, or protected classes. All insights are derived from publicly available aggregate datasets.
Sex Offender Registry Coverage by State
Public sex offender registries are known to be incomplete. SafeNSound applies correction factors derived from DOJ compliance audit studies and independent state-level assessments to account for registrants who are non-compliant with address verification. The table below shows the estimated percentage of registrants NOT verifiably at their listed address.
| State | Est. Non-Compliant | Correction Applied | Registry Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| NY | 37% | Γ1.59 | D |
| NJ | 31% | Γ1.45 | D |
| IL | 30% | Γ1.43 | D |
| MA | 28% | Γ1.39 | D |
| DC | 28% | Γ1.39 | D |
| MD | 26% | Γ1.35 | C |
| RI | 26% | Γ1.35 | C |
| CT | 24% | Γ1.31 | C |
| MT | 24% | Γ1.31 | C |
| ME | 23% | Γ1.30 | C |
| HI | 25% | Γ1.33 | C |
| NM | 25% | Γ1.33 | C |
| PA | 25% | Γ1.33 | C |
| VT | 25% | Γ1.33 | C |
| AK | 22% | Γ1.28 | C |
| DE | 22% | Γ1.28 | C |
| MS | 22% | Γ1.28 | C |
| NH | 22% | Γ1.28 | C |
| WV | 22% | Γ1.28 | C |
| WY | 23% | Γ1.30 | C |
| AR | 20% | Γ1.25 | C |
| IN | 20% | Γ1.25 | B |
| KY | 20% | Γ1.25 | B |
| MO | 19% | Γ1.23 | B |
| NE | 20% | Γ1.25 | B |
| UT | 19% | Γ1.23 | B |
| CO | 19% | Γ1.23 | B |
| ID | 19% | Γ1.23 | B |
| KS | 18% | Γ1.22 | B |
| NC | 18% | Γ1.22 | B |
| SC | 18% | Γ1.22 | B |
| TN | 18% | Γ1.22 | B |
| AZ | 18% | Γ1.22 | B |
| GA | 18% | Γ1.22 | B |
| AL | 15% | Γ1.18 | B |
| FL | 15% | Γ1.18 | B |
| TX | 16% | Γ1.19 | B |
| CA | 14% | Γ1.16 | A |
| MI | 17% | Γ1.20 | B |
| NV | 16% | Γ1.19 | B |
| WA | 17% | Γ1.20 | B |
| LA | 17% | Γ1.20 | B |
Source: DOJ SMART Office compliance audit estimates, state-level independent assessments. Grade A = <15% non-compliant; B = 15β21%; C = 22β26%; D = >26%. Correction factor multiplied by registry density before scoring.
Why This Platform Exists
The public safety intelligence market is dominated by tools built for governments and institutions β not individuals. The companies that control this data charge tens of thousands of dollars per year, operate behind closed APIs, and have recently faced serious trust issues. SafeNSound was built to close that gap.
How We Compare
LexisNexis Accurint Risk Suite
2024 data breach exposing 364k+ individuals. FTC settlement for selling vehicle telematics to insurers without disclosure. Enterprise pricing starts at $23,000+/year.
100% public federal data. No PII handled. Free tier available. Full methodology published here.
Palantir Gotham
$1B+ DHS contract, $30M+ ICE ImmigrationOS (2025). Methodology classified. No public access. No consumer product.
Built for the public, not for governments. Every formula on this page. No government contracts.
SoundThinking (ex-ShotSpotter)
Persistent false-positive accuracy debates. Chicago non-renewal. NYC audits raised concerns. $104M annual revenue from municipal contracts.
No sensors. No acoustic surveillance. Only publicly available federal datasets anyone can verify.
Citizen / Ring Neighbors
Citizen: ~$192M funded, AI transcription accuracy disputed, radio scanner with privacy concerns. Ring: Amazon device flywheel, past law enforcement data sharing controversies.
Complementary, not competitive. Citizen and Ring show what just happened. We show what the data says over time. Use both.
Open Sources
Every dataset is publicly available and linked. FBI NIBRS, Census Bureau, NOAA, FEMA, EPA. You can download our source data yourself.
Published Weights
Every factor weight is shown on this page. If you disagree with a weight, you can say so β and we'll read it. No black boxes.
No Surveillance
We do not operate sensors, cameras, or microphones. We do not purchase private data. We do not resell your location or behavior.
SafeNSound has no government contracts, no law enforcement data sharing agreements, and no institutional investors with access to user data. This platform is funded by optional subscriptions from users who want deeper features β not by selling data about the people who use it.
Radiation & Nuclear Risk Monitoring
Coming SoonSafeNSound will surface publicly available Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ) data from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. EPZs are not hazard scores β they are federally designated planning boundaries used by local emergency management agencies. Being inside an EPZ does not indicate danger; it indicates that the area is covered by an emergency preparedness plan in the event of a nuclear facility incident.
| Dataset | Source | Coverage | Update Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-Mile EPZ Boundaries | NRC PRIS / public GeoJSON | All 58 operating US reactors | Quarterly |
| 50-Mile Ingestion Zone | NRC guidance / derived | All 58 operating US reactors | Quarterly |
Data ingestion in progress. EPZ boundaries are a matter of public record and are published by the NRC under 10 CFR 50.47. This layer will not display radiation levels or real-time incident data β only the static planning zone boundaries.