San Jose Mercury News
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — If a house around the block gets broken into or a drug deal goes down near a school, Santa Cruz residents can find out about it almost as soon as police do.
The Santa Cruz Police Department signed on with a crime-mapping Web site to allow the community to keep track of crime in real time on specific streets, by date or type of crime.
The effort is the second recent attempt by police to offer immediate crime data to residents who might not get their news from traditional media.
The department launched the Nixel text messaging system last month that sends crime alerts to subscribers’ cell phones.
Joining the mapping service was largely driven by community demand, police said.
“It’s common to receive calls from people moving to a new neighborhood or a business relocating asking about crime trends in their neighborhood,” police spokesman Zach Friend said. “We recognize we live in an environment where there’s increasing desire for instantaneous information.”
The crime mapping system is easy to use, Friend said.
People can access the maps by visiting the department’s Web site at www.santacruzpolice.com or www.crimemapping.com .
Information is available on 16 crime types, including arson, assault, burglary, homicide and car theft.
The department is using the system on a free trial basis until July. The cost after the trial ends is $2,200 a year, Friend said.
Westside resident Deborah Elston, who helped create the community group Santa Cruz Neighbors, has signed up to receive e-mail updates from the mapping service.
She called the service “an awesome tool” that will empower residents to be proactive in working with police.
“Think about all those eyes and ears watching out for each other,” Elston said. “It enables residents to know what’s going on in their neighborhoods.”
The mapping system works by extracting data from the department’s records system so that the information being viewed is the most current available. Data is verified for accuracy, and all address information is generalized by block in order to help ensure privacy is protected.
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