Residents Can Track Local Crime

Sheriff's Office Offers Online Tool

By Kameel Stanley

Monday, August 4, 2008

Loudoun residents have a new way to keep an eye on neighborhood crime.

The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office unveiled an online tool this week that allows users to map recent crime reports in any part of the county under the sheriff's jurisdiction. The information, updated nightly, is provided in conjunction with a Utah company called CrimeReports.com.

Loudoun is the first jurisdiction in Virginia to partner with CrimeReports.com, although Montgomery County started its program in January, and the D.C. police have offered the service since last year.

The crime information is presented on Google maps and includes the dates, times and descriptions of the reported incidents, along with block numbers.

"We hope that it will help us with fighting crime in the community," said sheriff's department spokesman Kraig Troxell. "The more the community knows about these crimes, the safer it will become."

CrimeReports.com

A screenshot of CrimeReports.com mapping out crime in Loudoun County. The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office recently began a partnership with the site that allows citizens to view crime reports in their area.

The Sheriff's Office said it gets dozens of calls from people asking questions such as why police were on their block the night before or what crime is like in a certain area they are considering moving to, Troxell said. The new Web tool allows people to bypass such phone calls, he said, and find out directly what crimes were reported where.

Some incidents, such as sexual assaults, crimes against children, domestic violence and medical calls, will not be displayed on the Loudoun maps. Mapping such incidents could compromise victims' privacy, Troxell said. The Sheriff's Office will continue to publicize such crimes through news releases and the sheriff's e-mail alerts, which residents can sign up to receive.

"It's something we can always revisit," Troxell said of excluding some crimes from the mapping system.

The partnership with CrimeReports.com also allows residents to sign up for free e-mail crime alerts that can be customized. Users can choose to receive alerts for crimes occurring in certain neighborhoods, for example, or within a certain distance from any address.

Greg Whisenant, president and chief executive officer of CrimeReports.com, said he came up with the idea for the online mapping company in the 1990s after an encounter with a thief in his Arlington neighborhood. The company was launched in 2006.

The Web site's aim is to help police share crime data and give residents information they can use to adjust their behavior, Whisenant said.

"What we were finding was that people were interested in what was happening in their neighborhood," he said, adding that high-profile crimes aren't always the highest priority for residents. "They also care about the little burglary, the larcenies, the bikes stolen on their street," he said.

The incidents shown on the maps are based on calls to the Sheriff's Office and don't necessarily result in a crime report or an arrest.

The Salt Lake City-based company has signed up 240 law enforcement agencies for the program this year, Whisenant said, and has partnerships with cities and counties in most states. He said he has had conversations about the program with other Northern Virginia jurisdictions.

The Loudoun crime reports are at www.crimereports.com, www.loudoun.gov/crimereports and www.loudoun.gov/sheriff.

The service will cost Loudoun $199 per month, Troxell said.

"It's well worth it to get this information out to the community," he said.

Tagged: crime, Loudoun Sheriff's Office, police, technology

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