St. Louis unveils a crime-tracking Web site
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (SLMPD) has launched a publicly accessible Web site that tracks crime and police activity. Funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, the site allows the Police Department to identify trends, and it promotes community involvement in neighborhood safety.
Developed in conjunction with St. Louis University, the Web site includes reports about robberies, strong arm robberies, assaults, homicides, sexual assaults, thefts, burglaries, vandalism, arson, service calls and investigations. Crime data is automatically accumulated from SLMPD reports and is rolled out on the Web site within 18 to 24 hours of an incident.
St. Louis-based Kinetic Solutions built the site using database technology from Redwood Shores, Calif.-based Oracle and GIS software from Redlands, Calif.-based ESRI. The company customized a Web interface to allow users to conduct queries based on street address, neighborhood, crime type, or time of day/month.
In addition to assisting SLMPD in examining crime patterns and police practices, the site will boost public involvement in crime prevention, says Sergeant Robert Heimberger of SLMPD. “This system will provide immediate information, enabling us to identify problem areas and accurately communicate crime statistics and police activities in and around the metropolitan area,” he explains. “We believe this information will provoke residents to become more involved in neighborhood organizations and/or crime watch associations.”
