Every claim is graded. Here is the scale.
Every statement in a ViolationScout case file carries one of four grades. The grade depends on the source behind the statement, never on how the sentence reads. A claim with no source is a rumor with formatting.
| Grade | What it means | What backs it |
|---|---|---|
| Source-linked (city record) | The claim links to the city page that states it. | An HPD, DOB or OATH/ECB page you can open from the case file. No public source backs a claim more strongly. |
| Public-signal | A fair inference from public data, with no single city page to link to. | Registration data, two matters on one building, a pattern that repeats. What is missing is a link, not confidence, and the file says where to look it up. |
| Confirmed (address-matched) | A contact detail that matches the registered party’s address. | Two separate sources agree on the address. It keeps its own grade and never ranks above the city data it rests on. |
| Requires-verification | The data is there but old or unconfirmed. Check it before you act on it. | A lapsed registration, or a contact we could not confirm. The file says so instead of hiding it. |
No grade on this scale promises more than its source. A link we build to a city page shows you where a fact came from; it is not a guarantee. When a claim cannot meet its grade, the file says so or says nothing.
The omissions, in full.
The complete list of things a ViolationScout file will not contain, and why.
| Invented deadlines or countdown clocks | The city data has no per-case deadline. What makes a case urgent is already in the data: an open hazard, a scheduled hearing, an item marked Not Complied With. |
|---|---|
| A running total of what is left to pay | The city’s data gives the penalty each decision set and the amounts still pending. We never turn those into a running total. |
| Unconfirmed phone numbers | A contact ships only at the grade it earns. A number that cannot be tied to the named party does not ship as if it could. |
| Fuzzy owner matching | We link buildings only when the registered names match exactly, after we standardize how they are written. Similar names are not the same name. |
| Owner intent, neglect, or distress narratives | No field in the city’s data says what a person meant to do. We describe buildings and what the city wrote down about them. |
| Predicted hearing outcomes | The city publishes a decision after the hearing. Until then, all anyone can honestly give you is the hearing date and the status. |
| If the data does not back it, the brief does not say it. | |