Crime data – the big picture
Updated May 22, 2014
Author Ivan S. Turgenev wrote in his classic novel "Fathers and Sons:" "The drawing shows me at one glance what might be spread over ten pages in a book." That statement exemplifies what we intuitively know – the natural language of humankind is imagery. Images can be far richer in content than words. That is why viewing historical crime data on a spreadsheet can be informative, but it often lacks appeal, perspective and the emotional response needed to drive action. The website crimemapping.com solves that problem by extracting crime data directly from a law enforcement agency's record management systems (RMS) and then displaying that information in a visual format. The site allows visitors to see at a glance all of the reported crime in Cerritos, and surrounding areas, plotted on a digital street map. All crimes, except those that require confidentiality, are posted on crimemapping.com within 48 hours of occurrence. The public no longer has to wait for City staff to publish weekly or monthly crime reports in order to learn of criminal activity in their area.
Crimemapping.com was developed by The Omega Group to help law enforcement agencies throughout North America provide the public with valuable information about recent crime activity in their neighborhoods. The company's goal is to assist police and sheriff's departments in reducing crime through a better-informed citizenry. Creating more self-reliance among community members is a great benefit to community oriented policing efforts everywhere and has been proven effective in combating crime.
Crimemapping.com uses different types of icons to depict various types of crimes. The icons appear on the map where the crime occurred. Clicking on a particular icon reveals additional information about that specific crime.
As previously mentioned, the term "Hardening the Target" simply refers to strengthening the security of a building or object of attack in order to prevent or minimize damage or loss. The first step toward "Hardening the Target" is realizing that the target (your residence or business) needs to be hardened. Please take a moment to visit crimemapping.com to see how active criminals have been in your area. Then avoid becoming an icon on that map by taking steps to "Harden the Target." Remember that safety is no accident.
