Ann Arbor Police Department announces launch of new online crime map
The Ann Arbor Police Department on Friday announced the launch of a new online crime map intended to more proactively share accurate and up-to-date crime data with the public.
City officials said the department recently went live with CrimeMapping.com, a service of the Omega Group.
The city joins seven other agencies in Michigan that now report their crime data through the crime-mapping service. The site allows residents to map out reported, verified criminal activity near any address, select crime types, date ranges and generate reports.
A screen shot today of the new Ann Arbor crime map feature.
“Providing easy access to current, verified Ann Arbor crime data and giving citizens the ability to view current crime maps online and on-demand will help us to strengthen community-oriented policing by improving collaboration, trust and transparency with our citizens,” Police Chief Barnett Jones said in a statement.
“I hope every citizen will use this resource to stay better informed of incidences of crime in our community and ultimately have the information they need to be safer.”
CrimeMapping.com pulls incident data every 24 hours from the Ann Arbor police records management system, but only crimes that have completed a review and approval process are displayed, according to an e-mail newsletter sent out by the city today. Ann Arbor crime data from the previous six months will be available on the site.
City officials are encouraging residents to visit the CrimeMapping.com website and also watch an online training video for details. Sign up for crime alerts via e-mail here.
Ryan J. Stanton covers government and politics for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529. You also can follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's e-mail newsletters.
Comments
Dug Song
Thu, Aug 25, 2011 : 8:41 a.m.
The truly clunky <a href="http://umichcrime.org" rel='nofollow'>http://umichcrime.org</a> took me exactly 1 hour of hacking one boring night in 2006, using what was at the time a pretty new Yahoo API (which Google Maps has pretty much obsoleted). As a quick and dirty hack, it simply scrapes the data from the UM DPS site (police.umich.edu), caches the result, and plots it on an interactive map. Smarter folks than me could have done a much better job, if the data were more easily accessible. I asked for access to A2 police reports at the time, and got no response. This was before <a href="http://Data.gov" rel='nofollow'>http://Data.gov</a> , <a href="http://AppsForDemocracy.org" rel='nofollow'>http://AppsForDemocracy.org</a> , Adrian Holovaty's $1m Knight Foundation award for <a href="http://EveryBlock.com" rel='nofollow'>http://EveryBlock.com</a> , and the open data movement in general, so it's not surprising - but for a city as wired as Ann Arbor, you'd think we'd be better about sharing public data... publicly. Portland's got a nice site for this ( <a href="http://civicapps.org" rel='nofollow'>http://civicapps.org</a> ). When Fred Posner, Ed Vielmetti, and friends made a simple, free telephone service for Ann Arbor parking data, they got a fat cease-n-desist from the DDA (making parking transparent for citizens, apparently, violated Republic Parking's right to maintain inefficiency): <a href="http://a2geeks.org/display/geek/A2+DDA+Realtime+Parking+Data" rel='nofollow'>http://a2geeks.org/display/geek/A2+DDA+Realtime+Parking+Data</a> We discussed this at a CloudCamp we organized at Google, and a brief list of public data feeds in Ann Arbor got its start here, by Tyler Erickson (formerly of MTRI): <a href="http://a2geeks.org/display/geek/Data" rel='nofollow'>http://a2geeks.org/display/geek/Data</a> But Tyler's in Boulder now. Fred left for Florida. Andrew Turner, whose company Mapufacture was founded here, left for Virginia (where his company was acquired by GeoIQ). So it goes.
15crown00
Sun, Jul 31, 2011 : 2:03 p.m.
they have been putting a map like this in the Monroe Evening News for ages.it's hardly an advance in technology.
AfterDark
Mon, Aug 1, 2011 : 1:19 a.m.
It is when you can sort by date and type of crime, as well as get trend reports, like you can with this online system.
clara
Sun, Jul 31, 2011 : 12:43 a.m.
Ypsilanti and EMU already have on line crime mapping. It is at: <a href="http://geodata.acad.emich.edu/Crime/Main.htm" rel='nofollow'>http://geodata.acad.emich.edu/Crime/Main.htm</a>
Kai Petainen
Sun, Jul 31, 2011 : 1:30 a.m.
fantastic collaboration
YouWhine
Sat, Jul 30, 2011 : 6:32 p.m.
How much did this cost? Interesting that was left out. Intriguing that the chief talks about helping with community oriented policing. When the budgets were cut and the department slowly got rid of every single C.O.P position (beat officers), he said that service would be unaffected. I also wonder about the very specific way in which "verified" is repeated several times. I wonder hoe many home invasion cases the AAPD gets reported each day (way more than you'd imagine, I bet). Many are taken over the phone or as a walk-in as people wait to report, or there is no evidence, or they simply want a report for their insurance claim. Most of these are never investigated or followed up on. Does that mean that they are not 'verified' criminal activity? What determines a 'verified' offense from a reported one. It would be much more interesting to see a map of crimes REPORTED by citizens. Sure there are occasional false reports, but that happens anywhere. You would get a much clearer picture of what is going on if you relied on reported criminal activities as opposed to letting somebody filter the information and decide what they think should be termed as a 'verified' crime.
Kai Petainen
Sat, Jul 30, 2011 : 7:43 p.m.
Verified is cool with me. This step forward is good with me. But I can see a situation like this.... I heard people fire guns in the arb and then throw stuff in front of a train and then vandalize a bridge. Of that I only know that the vandalism was verified by the city police.
alternativeview99
Sat, Jul 30, 2011 : 7:20 p.m.
You raise some good questions. Thanks for asking them. Also, I guess I am a computer troglodyte. I couldn't get the map to show crimes or details of the crimes. This is surprising because I know of something that took place in my neighborhood and was checking to see if it was there.
AfterDark
Sat, Jul 30, 2011 : 7:05 p.m.
I think verified is the better way to go. It used to be that people could just call in auto thefts in the City of Detroit. They didn't even have to go into a station to do it. Obviously this opens the door wide to fraud and skews the numbers badly (not to mention what that does to insurance rates). Fortunately Detroit has discontinued the practice. I hope Ann Arbor doesn't have any similar practices that feed unverified information into the system.
AfterDark
Sat, Jul 30, 2011 : 5:21 p.m.
If certain crimes aren't being shown then AnnArbor.com needs to follow up with AAPD to learn how crimes are classified and when they get entered into the system (or why they don't).
AfterDark
Mon, Aug 1, 2011 : 1:21 a.m.
Given that the map comes from data pulled directly from AAPD it seems that such changes should be caught. There's no reason the map can't be updated as the data is.
MikeyP
Sun, Jul 31, 2011 : 5:57 a.m.
You also have to remember that maps (or even stats) are "snapshots in time"... which can be somewhat misleading when it comes to crimes. A call that comes in as a suspicious incident could be considered an armed robbery by responding officers but later changed to an aggravated assault when submitted to the prosecutor who might decide it was really a non-aggravated assault to which the defendant might plea to a disorderly charge. So which is it? Depends on when you ask the question, and to whom. That's why "give us the stats!" isn't as easy or clear-cut as it sounds. Sometimes it is easy, an auto theft is an auto theft, sometimes not so easy. Heck, even an auto theft that happens to be turned in right before the deadline could make it onto the map but, oops, turns out the car was borrowed and wasn't actually stolen. But the map is out there showing it as an auto theft and the stats published do as well. The next month it isn't there. Hey, what gives?!? Well, it was an unfounded report, they happen all the time.
AfterDark
Sat, Jul 30, 2011 : 6 p.m.
That's exactly why they should go to the AAPD and ask, "Where in the system are these incidents and if they aren't, why not?"
someguy734
Sat, Jul 30, 2011 : 5:27 p.m.
true they need to follow up with AAPD & DPS more.....but all the crimes im talking about were on a2 news at one point so i dont know what to say about this....
Sarcastic1
Sat, Jul 30, 2011 : 2:30 p.m.
If this map ends up being accurate, people will be surprise at how many crimes are committed in Ann Arbor.
Kai Petainen
Sat, Jul 30, 2011 : 5:27 p.m.
That's a really good point. But, if any of the shots were for suicides, then I don't think those are necessary? When public safety agencies don't tell you what has happened, then it can build mistrust, or make one to believe that they aren't working, or that they are involved more with image and marketing than public safety. I have heard, that sometimes public safety doesn't tell the public, as they don't want to cause alarm. Or they don't tell the public, because the laws don't force them to. But, I think citizens are smart enough to decide on their own. Ann Arbor lives in an incredibly talented/smart city, we can decide for ourselves, as to how we will react to a crime that occurred nearby. Although I bring up the Huron spill on a regular basis, that is the only case that I have first hand knowledge of, and I'm one of the few non-emergency responders that saw it first hand. So, I talk about it, because that case illustrates how public safety and those around us -- failed. They failed at collaborating with the city police in pursuing the criminal, they failed to notify us of what/how much had flowed where, and most imporatantly they failed at solving the crime. (btw, if they had solved the crime, they may have gotten a ton of money from fines/charges/etc). But, there are some positive steps that have been made, and hopefully more steps will be taken. What the Chef said and is doing, and I presume the mayor should be thanked as well (I don't always disagree with the mayor)... is a fantastic step in the right direction for public safety.
someguy734
Sat, Jul 30, 2011 : 4:52 p.m.
@Kai Petainen it is odd they deleted it...i know for a fact there have been at leaste 5 shootings in a2 in the past 5 months, including 1 homocide, 4 shooting victims, and incidents just with shots fired and nobobdy gets hit....im really getting tierd of a2 news trying to make ann arbor seem like the safest place in the world, i find that actually potentionally dangerous to give residents the illusion that nothing bad ever happens in a2
Kai Petainen
Sat, Jul 30, 2011 : 4:16 p.m.
i saw the comment about the guns. odd that they deleted it. i presume there are no gun crimes in ann arbor and what you said was incorrect. so they deleted it?
someguy734
Sat, Jul 30, 2011 : 3:26 p.m.
its not, they dont include any gun crimes at all, and deleting my comments saying that they dont
AfterDark
Sat, Jul 30, 2011 : 3:25 p.m.
The system, like all, can be gamed but I don't see evidence of AAPD doing that. Detroit, on the other hand, appears to be not entering some crimes or is classifying them as lesser crimes.
nixon41
Sat, Jul 30, 2011 : 1:24 p.m.
You can't read the map very well.
Kai Petainen
Fri, Jul 29, 2011 : 9:49 p.m.
this is a fantastic opportunity for UofM dps to collaborate with city police and put their stuff on this map. Great job city police (and mayor too?) with taking visible public steps towards public safety
Kai Petainen
Sat, Jul 30, 2011 : 4:29 p.m.
Although DPS has had its problems of not solving crimes (unable to trace/solve criminal dumping that flows for hours through its backyard and flows from a point (outfall) into the huron river), I've met folks at DPS who are good people and with good intentions. And from my understanding, they do protect the interests of the University. they have issued warnings and they are doing a better job, and for that, i say thank you. but, when i saw what i saw... they did not collaborate with the city police in a concentrated effort to solve a crime. so they can improve on collaboration. But, this is their chance to follow the great example of the AAPD... and demonstrate collaboration and transparency as well. they have crime stuff on their website, and in the past I complained that they weren't listing spills (but they have improved on that). i love what Chief Jones said, "Providing easy access to current, verified Ann Arbor crime data and giving citizens the ability to view current crime maps online and on-demand will help us to strengthen community-oriented policing by improving collaboration, trust and transparency with our citizens," Police Chief Barnett Jones said in a statement. ". Bravo. awesome chance for DPS to join along and improve on public relations, public safety and marketing too.
Basic Bob
Fri, Jul 29, 2011 : 10:13 p.m.
dps: doesn't protect students / doesn't provide statistics
AfterDark
Fri, Jul 29, 2011 : 7:23 p.m.
Missed a few MI agencies - Inkster, Jackson, and Livonia, are using it, too. Cool that there are trend reports available, too. Ypsi could stand to get on board. People will look out for their neighborhood more if they realize what's been going on.
clara
Sun, Jul 31, 2011 : 12:47 a.m.
Ypsilanti and EMU still has one at: <a href="http://geodata.acad.emich.edu/Crime/Main.htm" rel='nofollow'>http://geodata.acad.emich.edu/Crime/Main.htm</a>
Kai Petainen
Sat, Jul 30, 2011 : 6:09 p.m.
ha.. Ypsi has one... in 2006. it must have been an experiment that they cancelled?
Useless
Sat, Jul 30, 2011 : 4:55 p.m.
Ypsi has one <a href="http://maps.ypsi.com/crime/maps.html" rel='nofollow'>http://maps.ypsi.com/crime/maps.html</a>
AfterDark
Fri, Jul 29, 2011 : 9:30 p.m.
I think you'd be surprised if you saw YPD provided numbers.
tdw
Fri, Jul 29, 2011 : 7:38 p.m.
Ypsi really doesn't really need to. A2.com does a fine job of reporting every single incident that happens in Ypsi and Ypsi Twp
AfterDark
Fri, Jul 29, 2011 : 7:13 p.m.
The University and Sheriff need to get in on this app, too. I see Detroit, Canton, Bay City, and Grand Rapids are using it already.
thinker
Fri, Jul 29, 2011 : 7:10 p.m.
So, OK, how much did that cost?
John A2
Fri, Jul 29, 2011 : 7:08 p.m.
OK so is this going to get the rapist?
JS
Sat, Jul 30, 2011 : 3:07 p.m.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe John here was attempting some sarcastic humor.
Bob Bethune
Sat, Jul 30, 2011 : 1:41 p.m.
C'mon, guy, put your thinking cap on. A hammar and a saw aren't going to build your house for you. Software is a tool, not a solution.
MyOpinion
Fri, Jul 29, 2011 : 6:44 p.m.
Ryan, Can you check with the city as to whether these data are open data - available for anyone to create an application for? I might be interested in mapping crimes by weather (rain; < 32 degrees, etc) or by event (Art Fair, home football game). There is some functionality with the website, but it would be clunky. I want the raw data that was passed on to this vendor. And, the city might find that some local person can create a way cooler application.