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

Mapping System Keeps Berks Residents Abreast Of Crime

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Berks County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Editor’s note:  This is an awesome tool!!!

Of the four reported crimes in Birdsboro between March 20 and Tuesday, none was likely to be newsworthy.

The crimes reported to police, according to www.CrimeMapping.com, were a vandalism incident at East Second and Hook streets; a theft in the 300 block of Furnace Street; a burglary in the 900 block of Berks Street; and a drunken driver in the 400 block of East Eighth Street.

But just because these apparently unrelated incidents didn’t grab headlines doesn’t mean nobody besides the victims is interested.

As a way of helping the public keep abreast of crimes in their communities, nearly every police department in Berks County feeds data to www.CrimeMapping.com.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=464627