Pottstown Police Hope Digital Mapping Tool Will Solve Crimes

Editor’s note:  Any use of technology can only help police zero in on problem areas and crime trends.  Targeted enforcement can then be used to clean up problem areas or reduce certain types of crime that are above an acceptable level.   Two thumbs up!

POTTSTOWN — A new digital tool is helping police and the community combat the age-old problem of crime.

While mapping the locations of crimes that have occurred in Pottstown is not new, the practice moved in the digital direction after Police Chief Richard Drumheller took over the department in the spring.

Instead of using thumbtacks and a paper map, the Pottstown Police Department is using www.crimemapping.com, to track crime and analyze trends in the borough.

The department pays for the services analysis and data but the interactive website can be viewed for free by the public.

Read more: http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20131111/pottstown-police-hope-digital-mapping-tool-will-solve-crimes

Reading Taps New Technology To Predict And Prevent Crime

Map of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States with township and municipal boundaries (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It won’t replace city police officers’ intuition. It’s several techno-steps beyond the crime-mapping Reading has been doing for 30 years. It’s not criminal profiling.

And it’s not psychic.

But PredPol claims its software technology can tell police when and where the next crimes are likely to occur, within a few blocks.

“We are always seeking ways to improve our ability to fight crime in our city – in this case, preventing it before it happens,” Mayor Vaughn D. Spencer said at a press conference Thursday. “This technology is a force multiplier.”

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=516734

Scranton Police Department Gets New Crime Fighting Software

Image via Wikipedia

Scranton has purchased new software that will enable their police department to get a better handle on crime.  

For a very low price tag, $6,000, this software will enable police to do crime-mapping, tracking and facilitate anonymous tips from residents.  This sounds like something we could easily do in Pottstown.  The $6,000 price tag is a blip on our $3 million police budget. 

Anonymous tip reporting will get citizens more involved with law enforcement which is something that has been discussed here.  Citizens can get on their computer or phone, from the safety of their home, and report crimes or suspicious activity to the police.  It is completely anonymous.

The software pinpoints crimes on a map by location, type of crime and the time the crime was committed.  In Scranton’s case the data will go back as far as 2003!  What an awesome tool for such a rock-bottom price!  This technology will give police the opportunity to analyze trends and find creative ways to combat crime.

Scranton had a crime index in 2009 of 306.7, which is slightly below the US average of 319.2.  Pottstown had a crime index in 2009 of 454.7.  Scranton falls into the low category.  350 – 699 is considered moderate which is where Pottstown scores.  A score of 700 – 999 is considered high. 

The point of my comparison is that even with a lower crime rate; Scranton is being proactive and spending a few thousand dollars to reduce crime in their city with the use of technology.  It would seem this is something Pottstown should seriously consider.  I bet Scranton PD would give us a demo 🙂

Statistical information is from City-data.com