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Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Capt. Andrew Bilardello, talking to the Orlando Sentinel about the value of CrimeReports to the department and to local citizens.
Source: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/sfl-crime-map-pbso-p103009,0,5621216.story
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Here’s an interesting find for the law enforcement map geek in us all. Science Progress, recently created an interactive map of law enforcement DNA policies. There are a series of three maps that are color-coded, according to levels of access, written policy, etc. If you want to see the maps for yourself, go to Science Progress or click the map below.
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Two odd cases recently surfaced about criminals who called the cops on themselves:
Neilsville, Wis.—A 911 dispatcher recently received a call from 49-year-old Mary Strey who wanted to report a drunk driver. The dispatcher asked if Strey was currently behind the drink driver on the freeway. Strey reportedly answered, “I am them.” The dispatcher quickly instructed Strey to pull over to the side of the road and turn her hazard lights on, where she was found by sheriff’s deputies and cited for misdemeanor drunken driving. (source)
Brant Township, Mich.—A 54-year-old woman called Saginaw County Sheriff’s Deputies to report a theft early last Sunday morning. When a detective arrived, the woman informed him that two men had broken into her home and demanded that she hand over her marijuana plants, then fled. The woman said that she grew and used the plants for medicinal purposes, but she was promptly arrested on charges of manufacturing and delivering marijuana. (source)
We’re thankful that these ne’er-do-wells had the foresight to call the cops to report their questionable behavior. I wish more criminals would do the same. It would save us all a lot of time and effort.
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Times-Standard of Eureka California, quoting Police Chief Garr Nielsen about the benefit of CrimeReports over other crime-mapping solutions.
Source: http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_13684343
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Police Chief Don O’Keefe, Half Moon Bay PD, CA, talking about how CrimeReports integrates into a larger community policing strategy.
Source: http://www.hmbreview.com/articles/2009/10/29/news/breaking_news/doc4ae9e8e38e9be157886414.txt
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Palm Beach, Florida
Today, as Palm Beach County residents prepare to send their kids out trick-or-treating, the sheriff’s office announces a partnership with CrimeReports, creators of the National Crime Map, to give parents and members of the public a comprehensive map of crime in their communities. Palm Beach County joins 22 other law enforcement agencies across Florida that already publish crime information through the CrimeReports Network to inform local citizens about crime.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office believes that partnering with CrimeReports will give area citizens an accurate picture of crime, not only for Halloween safety but also throughout the rest of the year. Residents will be able to see city and county crime data side-by-side in the towns of Lake Worth, Wellington, Belle Glade, Royal Palm Beach, and other towns throughout the county, giving citizens a complete picture of crime in their communities.
“Florida has been a leader in publishing crime maps for the public,” said Greg Whisenant, founder and CEO of CrimeReports. “We’re thrilled to be working with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, and look forward to working closely with them to strengthen their partnership with the public to prevent and reduce crime.”
CrimeReports offers all citizens free email crime alerts, sex offender information, and the most comprehensive public crime mapping service on the web. Working with nearly 600 law enforcement agencies across North America, CrimeReports’ popularity is due, in part, to a recent trend in law enforcement toward use of web 2.0 tools and social media to share crime information directly with citizens. CrimeReports is the most-affordable, industry-leading resource for accurate, comprehensive, public-facing crime mapping.
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Students from the University of Florida are working with local law enforcement to prevent crime through environmental design. Crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) is a way of approaching crime prevention by looking at environmental factors like lighting, traffic flow, ambush points and shrubbery.
The UF students are examining local businesses, evaluating them from a design perspective, and making suggestions for improvement. They’ve partnered with police in their efforts and are lobbying the city council to require CPTED compliance for local businesses.
Not only is CPTED a new and effective way to look at crime prevention efforts, but as local law enforcement departments partner with local residents, they will build relationships and create better communication between citizens and law enforcement. And those relationships will help law enforcement and citizens stay in touch and prevent crime before it even happens.
Is there a chance to do this in you area?
For more information on how they use CPTED to evaluate local businesses, read the full article here: http://www.alligator.org/news/local/article_bae8e36e-c37a-11de-ab2b-001cc4c03286.html
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The Following article was written by Cory Beyer, Crime Analyst for the League City, Texas, Police Department:
League City, Texas
Law enforcement, like all aspects of life, has been revolutionized by technological advances. The technologies we may take for granted now, such as the automobile, radio and telephone, once transformed policing in major ways. Police cars, first used in 1910, increased efficiency by having officers respond more quickly to emergencies. Radios replaced call boxes in 1928 which increase the effective range of a patrolman by freeing them from stationary boxes. Telephones later developed into 911 dispatching, allowed for easier access to police services during times of crisis. When looking back on these innovations it is easy to see the impact they have had. The League City Police Department is committed to identifying new and useful technologies that will have a greater impact on crime and the fear of crime. This September, the League City Police Department has incorporated two innovative web-based programs, CrimeReports.com and Command Central. Both programs will lead to new and exciting developments in police services.
The first is a web-based program accessible to the public called CrimeReports.com. This program was created by the developers for the purpose of making real time crime statistics available to the local citizenry. The program publishes crime data from the League City Police Department’s databases into an interactive mapping website. The police department’s goal is to put near-real time data into the public’s hands so informed decisions can be made by the citizens. One of the more exciting features of the program offers an option for sending daily, weekly or monthly email alerts to League City residents about criminal activity in their neighborhood. The department also expects a new level of collaboration will develop between the citizens and the police as crime and disorder problems become readily assessable for analysis by the public. Please review our efforts at CrimeReports.com and register your name for crime alerts concerning your neighborhood.
The second technological feature being implemented is called Command Central from the makers of CrimeReports.com. Command Central is a web-based analytical program made only accessible to League City police officers. The program puts real-time data into the hands of officers as they patrol their designated areas. Command Central could possibly do the work of three or four paid analysts. Now, officers can instantly substantiate or refute their suspicions with empirical data. This reduces the time spent studying crime problems and increases the problem-solving capabilities of the entire department. One feature of the program gives officers a “normal” crime range by assessing past crime data. Officers can then address emerging trends and patterns when crimes exceed the “normal” range by developing dynamic action plans tailored to contend with the specific problem.
The League City Police Department is committed to forming and promoting partnerships with the residents, businesses, and guests of League City and to providing the greatest services possible. To meet this goal, we are vigorously searching out new technologies that have the potential of revolutionizing law enforcement. Programs such as CrimeReports.com will cultivate a new contract between the citizens and the police as we both explore new and creative solutions to crime, the fear of crime, disorder, and decay. It is our intent to keep the League City Police Department on the leading edge of progress to better serve you.
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The Death Penalty Information Center released a study last week that highlights the high cost of the death penalty in a time of economic crisis and releases the findings of a poll of police chiefs on the effectiveness of the death penalty as a deterrent to crime.
Death Penalty Not a Deterrent
The study reports that although most police chiefs support the death penalty philosophically, they don’t believe it is an effective law enforcement tool for deterring criminals. As well, when asked what area is the most important for reducing violent crime, chiefs rated the death penalty last, with only 1% placing it in the top three. They also agreed that it was the least efficient use of tax payer’s money to reduce crime.
In general, most chiefs ranked lack of law enforcement resources and drug/alcohol abuse as the top issues interfering with law enforcement. And many believed that being pro-death penalty was more of a symbolic stance by politicians than it was an actual policy to reduce crime.
Poll Results
Here are some charts from the study:
Chiefs Support the Idea of Death Penalty, If Not the Practice
Although this study clearly paints a picture that most police chiefs agree that the death penalty does not aid their crime fighting efforts, it is important to keep in mind that the majority still support it on philosophical grounds. In fact, Mark White, former Governor of Texas, has been recently vocal about the decision to change his stance on the death penalty, saying that he doesn’t want any more innocent people executed for crimes they did not commit. However, he still maintains that, morally, the death penalty “is an appropriate punishment for the most heinous crimes.”
What about all the law enforcement officers, chiefs, and sheriffs out there? What do you think about the death penalty, and does it help you do your job?
Download the entire study here.
Download the executive summary here.
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Stumble It!
The Crime Map 