Crime Info, Street by Street

Overwhelmed by citizen requests for detailed crime information about their neighborhoods, law enforcement agencies across the country are teaming up with the private Web site CrimeReports.com to put that information at resident's fingertips daily. The free-to-the-public online mapping service lets residents track local crime trends by typing an address or city into a search query. Small icons representing types of crime -- such as homicides, violent robberies, assaults and sex offenses -- appear on a Google map, and users can click on each icon to open a small box with the date and location. Some participating agencies also provide small narratives of each crime. Reports are updated daily, and remain up for 30 days. Utah recently became the first state to team with CrimeReports.com, and has authorized $150,000 to test the service for a year. Local law enforcement agencies will be able to identify trends and trouble spots through cross-jurisdictional data sharing. Initially, the service is free for police agencies; after a year, agencies are charged a monthly fee based on the size of the population the agency serves. The site already seres counties and cities in 14 states and Washington, D.C.

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