From Deseret News archives:

State to put crime reports on people's computer desktops

Users can pull up detail of incidents in an area

Published: Thursday, Jan. 31, 2008 12:26 a.m. MST
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As of Wednesday only a handful of agencies had their data working on the map, including South Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County. According to the AG's office, they anticipate that most of Utah's agencies will be giving 24-hour updates of crime reports to the site within a month but that it will be up to each agency. Agencies that have yet to participate include the state's largest metropolitan police department, Salt Lake, as well as Davis and Weber counties' largest cities — Layton and Ogden.

The service does come with a cost. Curtis said the Utah Legislature last year approved a one-time allocation of $150,000 to fund a pilot program.

Greg Whisenant, president and CEO of Public Engines, the company that runs CrimeReports.com, estimated the cost to run the system is about $1,000 a year per department but as long as the Legislature continues to fund the project at $110,000 each year, it will be at no cost to police departments.

Whisenant said he created the mapping program on his own free time after his office building was burglarized. Since then, the site services cities in 14 states and D.C.

Salt Lake County Sheriff James Winder said his office has struggled to pull together his department's crime data into something that was user-friendly. "They did it in two days," Winder said.


E-mail: gfattah@desnews.com

Recent comments

This is a commercial site, not a State of Utah site.

It also asks...

Private, not public, site | Jan. 31, 2008 at 7:35 a.m.

Premature, oversold at this point. Will have to wait and see how...

Tab L. Uno | Jan. 31, 2008 at 12:38 a.m.

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