Crimemapping.com is a service that provides a map showing the locations where crimes have been reported in participating cities. The one for Midland, Texas, utilizes the data supplied by the MPD Crime Analysis section, and it's essentially the same map they used to post online at the city website. So it frees up the Crime Analysis folks for more crime analyzing and less mapping. And the Crimemapping map has a few more bells and whistles, like email notices when a crime occurs near the address the user registers.
Currently, only two Texas cities subscribe to the service, Midland and Fort Worth. According to a city insider it costs a couple hundred bucks a month. So expense has to be a factor for any municipality trying to watch its budget. The insider says its paid for here from funds provided by a federal grant. (So those of us trying to be tax hawks need to direct our complaints to DC where $200 probably wouldn't cover a lawmaker's monthly lunch tips.)
In the meantime, for the security conscious citizen, a glance at the crime map can give a snapshot of the recent activity where he/she can learn, for example, that sexual assaults occurred at Midland Memorial Hospital on Tuesday and Friday last week at 10:50pm and 8:55pm, respectively. Is that a pattern? Call Crime Analysis. Stat!
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