Berkeley police release online Crime Mapping Tool

Screen grab from Berkeley Police Department's Community Crime View
online mapping tool

By Angela Hokanson, Bay City News Service

February 26, 2006

BERKELEY (BCN) - The Berkeley Police Department released the "Community Crime View" Wednesday, a new online tool that allows the public to search for and map recent crimes within the city in an effort to keep the community informed about crime.

The tool, which took several years to produce, was created by the Police Department in partnership with the city of Berkeley Information Technology Department and Berkeley community members.

The tool is a Geographical Information Systems map that allows users to search for recent crimes by the address where they occurred, the type of crime, and the time period in which they happened. Users can also search for locations such as schools, parks, police beats, or city council districts.

Berkeley police officers are being trained to use the tool so that they, too, can stay informed about incidents that occur in their beat while they are away from work.

Community Crime View can be found on the Police Department's Web site: http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/police.

Copyright © 2006 by Bay City News, Inc. -- Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.

####