Annapolis residents now can find the locations of crimes on a map customized to their addresses.
In the Baltimore area, only the Harford County Sheriff’s Office and Maryland State Police post information on crimereports.com that is updated once every 24 hours.
“It’s our intent to be as transparent as possible,” said Lt. Brian Della, Annapolis police spokesman, during the announcement Thursday.
“Hopefully this will be a reminder for [residents] to exercise caution.”
The Annapolis department will continue to e-mail daily information on crimes to the 1,500 to 1,700 subscribers.
Through the mapping technology, the user can click on one of the flags on the map and learn the incident’s distance from his or her address, date and time, police case ID number, and a few more details.
Users can also get e-mail alerts if a crime happens within a quarter-mile to five-mile radius of their residence.
One drawback of the technology is that it only catalogues crimes six months back, said Beth Hart, a police criminal justice coordinator.
The map was made available through a $2,400 grant from the governor’s office, police said.
