Crime maps provide visual representations of urban crime, and are a means by which police services can communicate information about crime to the community (Chainey & Tompson, 2012). Police services may create their own maps using commercially available mapping templates; alternatively, they may use the services of a private sector company in the crime analytics sector. Such companies also offer a variety of other data analytics services that may include predictive analytics, data management tools, and dashboards for internal police use. In some cases, crime mapping companies offer publicly accessible crime maps to police forces for free – perhaps in the hope that other for-fee data analytics services or enhancements to the map will be chosen for use by the force (Paulsen & LeBeau, 2012). Even where fees are charged for the crime maps, these are relatively low. For example, Wisnieski (2014) reports that crime mapping companies can charge fees that range from $600 to $2400 (USD) per year depending upon the size of the police force. Cost and convenience may be motivating factors for police services to choose to contract with private sector companies for crime mapping services.