Hamilton police launch online crime map

Hamilton police have launched at crime mapping tool that allows residents to search when and where certain types of crimes have happened in the city.

The new tool, which was introduced at the monthly Hamilton Police Services Board meeting on Monday, tracks the following types of crimes for the past 60 days:

• Homicide.
• Break & Enter (Burglary).
• Robbery.
• Motor vehicle theft.
• Theft from vehicle (Burglary from motor vehicle).

The crimes are posted with a one-day delay.

To protect victims’ privacy, crime locations are randomly offset, and addresses are mapped to the block level. For example, 123 King St. becomes 1xx King St.

“Crime mapping helps the public get a better understanding of the crime activity of their area so they can make more informed decisions about how to stay safe,” the police’s website reads.

Police noted that, however, the crime information, such as offence types and related addresses, often change during the investigative process. The information provided in the online tool serves “only as a general crime trends” in the city.

No cost to police

In addition to the mapping feature, the tool is also equipped with basic analytical features that show crime density, crime type by day of the week and other trends.

Residents can set up crime alerts to receive email and text notifications of crimes in their chosen areas. An iPhone app is also available for this purpose.  

A new feature will also be added soon to allow residents and businesses to register their security cameras to help police build a database of cameras and turn them into law enforcement tools.

To help residents navigate the new tool and its features, police have posted a tutorial video on YouTube.

During the representation at the board meetings, board members heard that the mapping service, developed by U.S.-based software company Bair Analytics, is of no cost to Hamilton police. There will also be no maintenance costs in the future.

Part of the reason why the service is free, the board heard, is that the mapping tool is relatively simple to built, and Hamilton police are partnering with Bair Analytics for other internal applications that carry costs.

Coun. Terry Whitehead, a city-appointed member of the board, questioned who holds the proprietary rights to the so-called free service.

Hamilton police reserves the rights to the data, the board heard. When new crime data are posted to the site, old data are replaced and will not be retained.

Hamilton is the second police agency in Canada to work with the company for the mapping service. London, Ont., police have been using the mapping tool for less than a year, according to the presentation,