Munci Police Web Site Allows For Tracking Of Local Crime

The Muncie, Ind., Police Department (MPD) has established a special division that will use Web-based mapping software to monitor and study crimes city-wide. A local media firm named CS Kern was paid $2,100 to create a database for the mapping Web site, which can be accessed from the department’s central Web site at http://www. munciepolice.org. Muncie’s mapping site is publicly funded and is run through the City Of Muncie instead of being privately run, said Sgt. Steve Stewart, MPD’s IT director. He added that probably no other police department in the state provides mapping capabilities through its Web site. “Policemen want to be where the crimes are,” Stewart said. “This gives them a visual.” Joe Winkle, MPD’s police chief, says the mapping site was recently used to monitor a series of break-ins over the past two months. “It’s valuable for us, but it’s also pretty informational for the public,” he said. Users of the site need to first click on one of 21 crime categories, ranging from arson to weapons violations, and then choose a timeframe. Data is usually available within two days after being reported, said MPD officials. The Web site processes the data and offers a map featuring markers in balloon form. By clicking on the markers, users can obtain an address, time, and date for the incident, but only the 100 most recent markers can be mapped due to the parameters of the software. Because the site is currently in a maintenance period, the MPD needs to gather information from a records management system and upload it into the Web site’s server.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center(NLECTC) from the Muncie Star Press (IN) (05/11/06) P. 1A; Werner, Nick .