The Coppell Police Department has initiated an online crime mapping system that is available for viewing by the public. The intent of the crime map is to help the public get a better idea of the crime activity in their area so they can make more informed decisions about how to stay safe and to increase awareness of criminal activity and crime trends. It is hoped that a more informed citizenry will reduce crime and improve public safety.

The mapping software was acquired in conjunction with the Citizen Observer tip411 public safety alert and anonymous tip software package recently put into use by the Coppell Police Department. The crime mapping software is from a separate company called Bair Analytics. However, the mapping software and the public safety alert software do interact in that anonymous tips can be made to tip411 directly from the crime map.

The BAIR Analytics’s public crime map, called RAIDS Online, goes beyond crime mapping by automatically alerting the public about recent crime activity and by improving communication between the public and law enforcement through anonymous tips. The public crime map is intended to empower the public to make better decisions about crime by putting the same technology used by law enforcement into the hands of the public.

Raids Online provides crime mapping services to hundreds of cities throughout the United States. The public can examine crime maps for any of those cities. For those interested in viewing the crime map of Coppell, Texas, it can be found under “Crime Map” on the Coppell Police Department’s webpage at http://www.ci.coppell.tx.us/police-main. The crime map can also be found on the Raids Online home page at http://raidsonline.com/. While the functions of the crime map are easy to understand, instructions on how to utilize it are on both the Coppell Police Department’s webpage and the Raids Online home page.

In reference to the crime map, when one zooms in on Coppell, Texas, various icons will be displayed about the city depicting various crimes. If one clicks on one of the icons, information about that particular crime will be displayed. In addition, a chance to submit an anonymous tip about that crime is located near the bottom of the pop-up display. It should be noted that the exact addresses of each crime are not displayed. Each crime’s address is limited to the 100 block. For example; “130 Town Center Blvd” would be displayed as “1XX Town Center Blvd.”

The Coppell Police Department encourages everyone to explore the Raids Online public crime map. Raids Online offers many choices and options which can be accessed from their home page. A mobile app for the iPhone and an option to receive e-mail notifications regarding changes to the crime map are some examples of these options.

Press release courtesy of Coppell Police Department