Dotted Eyes joins forces with West Midlands...

21 September 2007, 10:36am

Dotted Eyes joins forces with West Midlands Police to put crime on the map.

Face facts and feel safer – that’s the message behind an important new website launched by West Midlands Police today.

www.myneighbourhood.info gives detailed information on local crime, broken down to neighbourhood level, enabling users to get a valuable insight into crime trends in their area. ResponseMX, Dotted Eyes’ web mapping platform, is an integral part of the website, allowing members of the public to get up-to-date information on a wide variety of crime categories including house burglary, robbery, theft of and from vehicles, common assault and wounding.

Thematic maps indicate crime levels for each neighbourhood, showing users how their area compares to the force average and indicating if crime levels are rising or falling. Users can zoom in and out very easily and see local Points of Interest.

The site links to local operational command unit mini-sites, which contain details of local neighbourhood policing teams, and to a ‘neighbourhood toolkit’, crammed with crime prevention tips. Dotted Eyes has also produced an API which allows third party websites to link directly to a crime map for a specific postcode or neighbourhood.

An online poll section gives the public the chance to vote on a range of community safety issues which may affect their neighbourhood, and a ‘Have Your Say’ section allows them to take part in an instant on-online vote.
The data is uploaded on a monthly basis direct from police recording databases.

Assistant Chief Constable, Suzette Davenport, commented, “There is often a gap between the level of crime the public think is happening in their neighbourhood and the actual crime levels. This website is about being open and honest with the public about real crime levels, supplying communities with facts which will hopefully help them realise crime levels are not as high as they had feared, which in turn makes them feel safer.”

Steve Rose, Birmingham Partnership Information and Intelligence Manager for West Midland Police, said, “ResponseMX helped our website development team win the ‘Most Innovative Use of Mapping’ prize at the International Crime Mapping conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The site was recognised as a good example of the way the police can reassure the public by keeping them informed about local crime trends.”

www.dottedeyes.com

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