Crime stats direct from community online
The Crime Aware website is a free service that is designed to collect crime data around South Africa. The system is powered by Google Maps and one can log in to check for incidents in an area without having to sign up.
Crime Aware invites everyone to sign up and report any incident that happened to them, or that was witnessed, recent or in the past. Having only been operational for a couple of weeks, the site is already seeing 2,500 unique visitors a day.
The site was inspired by the CompStat crime mapping system which was launched in 1994 by the New York City police department. Every crime that occurred in the city was reported on the system, and the NYPD could then begin to see crime patterns emerge, and predict where criminals might strike next.
Theories on tackling crime suggest that minor incidents going unreported leads to criminals becoming more brazen as they feel they have gotten away with their actions.
Crime Aware asks that we all take the time to report crime incidents that happen to us, or around us, inform our neighbours and get involved with the local community policing forums. In this way awareness can be developed and citizens can become proactive in protecting themselves and their communities say Crime Aware.
Crime stats online – discussion
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