After discussing white-collar capers with Your Blog readers sugarbear, jervis961 and Quint in connection with my password post yesterday, I ran across a mashup called SpotCrime. It takes police blotter and news reports in a variety of major U.S. cities – over the time period you designate – and plots incidents like robberies, burglaries and shootings on a Google map.
This is neither Chamber of Commerce fare nor an undertaking that’s anywhere near comprehensive. Nonetheless, it could be useful for checking out neighborhoods for recent criminal activities. For more details, take a look at Jason Kincaid’s post over at TechCrunch.
May 22nd, 2008 at 8:07 pm
Most law enforcement agencies will give out neighborhood crime stats upon request. I do like how this tool can speed up the process for those of us who like to shop online.
Another great tool for property is using your local property appraiser’s website. Some allow acess to home demensions, permitting information, inspections, tax amounts, owner info and even past selling prices. A great tool for bargain hunting and weeding out lemons as well.
June 5th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Cool idea, but I can tell you the information for my city (Pittsburgh) is incomplete. The map shows shootings, but nothing else. I work for a TV station, so I know that there’s been a lot more crime over the past month than is reflected here. I wonder where they get their data from?
June 5th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Hi Anne, a/k/a Red Headed News Chick. Thanks for dropping by Your Blog. From what I’ve gleaned, the site sources it info from police and news reports. Sadly, some city maps are literally smothered with shooting and other crime icons