THE SPRINGFIELD POLICE DEPARTMENT JOINS CRIMEREPORTS.COM, THE NATIONAL CRIME MAP

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Mayor J. Michael Houston has announced that Springfield residents can now gain access to neighborhood level crime incident data in near real time.

“Providing reliable, timely information to our residents is one of our top priorities,” says Mayor Houston. “Partnering with CrimeReports gives us the ability to keep the public informed on a regular basis as to what is going on in their neighborhoods. This moves the police department to a new level of transparency giving our residents easy access to vital information”

The public can access the free crime data through the website or through the CrimeReports iPhone app, available for free download in the Apple iTunes store. The new service even lets local residents sign up for free customizable email alerts, so they can monitor crime in their neighborhood. “Information is power,” Police Chief Robert Williams added. “We hope that giving the community this information will help them understand crime trends and lower crime in their neighborhoods.”

“The Springfield Police Department is demonstrating its leadership in law enforcement by finding new ways to connect with the public at a personal level,” said Greg Whisenant, founder and CEO of CrimeReports. “By partnering with us, they are recognizing the value of the public’s involvement and being proactive in both policing and investing in programs that make a difference.” The web-based CrimeReports service is designed to be affordable for agencies of all sizes.

More than a thousand other law enforcement agencies of all sizes across North America are sharing their crime information with the public through the national crime map, including Baltimore, Boston, San Jose, San Francisco, Portland, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles County, and more. The map currently covers nearly 30% of the US population.

The public can access the Springfield crime map and sign up for daily, weekly, or monthly email crime updates at www.CrimeReports.com. The cost of the service is $1,788 annually, and is being paid from Homeland Security software funds.