Police1 Staff Report
(LINCOLN, Neb.) -- Local residents now can get up to date information on crime statistics in their neighborhoods thanks to new interactive crime maps on the Lincoln Police Department’s Web page.
“I know people are interested in seeing what happens in our community,” Chief Tom Casady told the Lincoln Journal Star. “It’s one thing to look at older crime maps and another to be able to look at one with current data.”
This is the first time that the department’s site - www.ci.lincoln.ne.us/city/police/index.htm - has had daily information.
Citizens can point to their neighborhood on the map, click and see daily crime information instead of having to wait until the next publication of data, according to the Star.
By keeping informed on the latest crime information, people can change their behavior to better protect their property and safety, Casady told the paper.
“Just being in tune with crimes in my own neighborhood has changed my own personal habits,” Casady said.
The maps can be parsed to show crimes ranging from homicide to indecent exposure to see what type of crime is occurring; or citizens can also search different types of locations like parks, schools, or streets to see where crime is happening.
The chief warns about drawing too many conclusions from the maps.
“This data is not perfect,” he told the newspaper. “Trying to interpret crime maps can be problematic...we can’t map every crime, and comparing can get shaky pretty quick.”
But in all, the chief believes the maps will show people that crime is every where.
“I’m the police chief, and I know crimes occur all over town,” he said. “But I think a lot of people don’t understand that crimes happen right down the street.”