Empowering the public

The world already knows how the Information Age is putting a dent in abuses by tyrannical governments. When authorities cracked down on protesting monks in Burma last year, cell phone cameras and satellites let everyone know. Attempts to shut off Internet service in that country couldn't keep prying eyes away.

Now it's time for the Information Age to bring the same kind of transparency to neighborhood crimes. This week, the state of Utah unveiled a new crime-mapping service as part of a partnership with Google Maps and CrimeReports.com, a private Web site. The service is the first of its kind to cover an entire state, and it was made free to the public thanks to a $150,000 appropriation by the Legislature last year.

The service is simple. Visit CrimeReports.com, type in your address and watch as a map appears showing your home and the crimes reported during the last 30 days in your vicinity. Users can shorten the date range, and they can view all crimes committed or specify reports on certain crimes only. A mouse click on the symbols representing crimes will bring up information about what type of crime was committed and when it was reported.

The Web site is linked with the state's sex-offender registry. Users can ask for information on where nearby convicted sex offenders live, then click on that information to view a photo of the offender and details on his or her crimes. If you register with the site, it can automatically send you e-mail alerts when a new crime is committed in your neighborhood.

As with government crackdowns by tyrannical governments, this Information Age won't stop crimes. This Web site can't report things before they happen. But it can be a valuable tool for tracking crime waves, uncovering patterns and alerting people to be extra vigilant. Local neighborhood watch groups should find this tool especially helpful as a supplement to their regular patrols.

As exciting as this new partnership is, some of the state's largest police departments, including Salt Lake City, Layton and Ogden, do not yet provide information to this site. Also, the Legislature will need to provide about $110,000 on a yearly basis to make the service free to both the public and the police.

We can't understand why some police departments have not signed on. Knowledge is power, and an empowered, alert public can be a police department's best friend, a criminal's worst enemy.