Police go hi-tech to map city crime hotspots

Allows users to sort crime by street, ward and police post

By LISA BEISEL, Staff Writer

Published 10/19/09

Annapolis residents can now get a glimpse of exactly where crime in the city is occurring, down to the exact street, thanks to new crime-mapping technology.

The software, obtained using a Byrne Justice Allocation Grant, will help residents learn more about what's going on in their neighborhood. Users can view a map of the city to see where the reported crime is, or they can zoom in on their ward or even their own street.

The site allows users to click on the colored dots to find out more details about each crime.

Crimes are updated as soon as the reports have been checked by the officers, said Ray Weaver, city Police...

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Crime Mapping - 2009-10-20 10:22:53

Was there something wrong with this:
http://spotcrime.com/md/annapolis
That's what I've always used. It seems to be free. How much was the Byrne Justice Allocation Grant?

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S. Abbott - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Neutral

Anyone say Google Maps? - 2009-10-19 20:49:36

Why in the world is the City paying someone to develop this capability? The interface is terrible and the graphics stink. Couldn't the City just have used Google Maps for this? Instead of spending time developing the mapping function, they could have spent money populating Google Maps with useful information.

Oh well, at least it is a step in the right direction.

Huh?
"(Other sites are) just not going to know the city as well as we know it," he said. "We can really, really manage the site down to the wards, streets and police posts."

What is so special about a lat/lon point on a map with a bubble? Sounds like they don't want to share their raw data...lame.

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mark d. - annapolis, md - Karma: Neutral