2008.01.17
Roanoke crime map now available
It took a while, and what we've got is still a pretty simple product, but we're at last mapping crime data in the DataSphere.
Yesterday I put up a map of Part I offenses reported to Roanoke police from December 1 to January 12. I'll update the map every week or two, so that the most current four or five weeks' of offenses are there. I'll also be adding a map for Roanoke County Part I offenses soon, perhaps this week.
These are useful maps, I hope. They give you the offense type, date, time and location of the report. And bear in mind, these are only reported offenses, and the city's crime reports, on which the map is based, gives no indication of arrest, trial or conviction.
Still, there are limitations. Part I offenses are only the more serious crimes and against people and property. So, a rash of vandalism in your neighborhood won't appear here. Nor will a series of drunk in public arrests outside a nearby bar. I'm not certain, but I don't believe drug crimes are on the list, either. That's a significant shortcoming, but you have to work with what's available.
What's available are the city and county police department's crime reports, which are updated with improving regularity, and city police Education and Information Specialist Aisha Johnson has been very helpful in clarifying addresses so I can map crimes accurately. You can get to the original reports for these and other localities in the public safety section of the DataSphere.
The addresses, by the way, are only block numbers and streets, so a map won't tell you if a crime happened next door. It will tell you if it happened on your block.
In the future, I'd like to have archived information available, allow users to configure the map according to a date range, limit their search by offense type, and enter an address to see all offenses within, say, a quarter-mile of it. Bear with us on that.
Meanwhile, I'm investigating the practicality of color-coding the map markers by offense type. Keep watching for that, and for that Roanoke County map, too.
The map looks really good. Did you do that? How did you do that? Did the Roanoke Times buy the software and you plant the pins?
I hope you keep the data in your own database so you can make comparisons from year to year. Like, increase or decrease in certain crimes. Where crimes are increasing or decreasing.
This would help validate or invalidate the news from "the spin zone".
Where there is a will there is a way. Good job!
Comment by Valerie — January 18, 2008 @ 12:11 pm