CrimeReports.com
A site I was introduced to by our local police department has me excited: CrimeReports.com. You can look at a map that shows crimes of various kinds in any area you choose – a city, county, etc. You can specify a time period as well, if you're looking for something specific. You can sort in different ways, limit by crime type, etc. Lots of bells and whistles, and great information, including what time the crime occurred, exactly what type of crime, where, and how far from your point of origin (e.g. house). You can also sign up for email alerts for crimes in your area. The data is provided by law enforcement agencies and in most locations is updated daily. See below for traffic accidents during a 2 week period in December in downtown San Rafael.
I think that many library users would be interested in learning about a site like this – a good one to promote on your library blog, with a sign at the information desk, or with a little promotional ad on your homepage.
January 21st, 2009 at 3:54 pm
Note that not every law enforcement agency participates in this. So don’t be surprised if you don’t find info from your area.
January 21st, 2009 at 11:08 pm
Hmm – police reports are not records of crimes; many reports do not lead to convictions, many actual crimes are never prosecuted and many crimes are never discovered.
I hope libraries will use our noggins and and catalog this as ‘cops’ and not ‘robbers’.
Given all that, a study of police activity is incredibly interesting – where they get called to, where they are stopping people, and as your example, where accidents happen. So I’m glad to know of this site, even if their assertion that they aggregating “crime” data is specious.
January 22nd, 2009 at 9:29 am
.You’re right Caleb – police crime reports do not equal crimes. That’s what the courts are for, but I would warrant that most of these are crimes. Burglaries, sexual assaults, etc. The example I gave in the screenshot was indeed a crime in which I was personally involved with a loved one as a victim. The driver was cited, fined, and has a criminal record now. So while they’re not necessarily all “crimes” by definition, some are, and that should be kept in mind too.
January 28th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
When I first moved to Boulder County, CO, I used the local crime report in the newspaper (comes out weekly)to take the “temperature” of the area. It helped me narrow my homesearch by avoiding what seemed to be hot spots. Crime maps are useful if the user keeps the above-mentioned caveats in mind. A lot of towns/cities are missing on this site. My guess is this is a result of it being a subscription service. They should try freeware/free access and bill for adverts and links.