Online map tracks crimes for Hendersonville, NC residents

Online map tracks crimes for Hendersonville residents

By Andrew Mundhenk
Times-News Staff Writer 

Hendersonville residents have a new tool to find out what’s going on in their neck of the woods.

The Hendersonville Police Department have partnered to provide an updated online interactive map to inform the public about crime occurrences in the city.

The map, available on communitycrimemap.com, uses Google Maps to analyze and pinpoint crime data, providing basic information on specific incidents in the city limits.

“We feel that citizens have the right to know,” Police Chief Herbert Blake said. “We want to make these occurrences available to them.”

Residents can view a map and grid showing all of the crimes in their area, and sign up for neighborhood watch reports that automatically email a breakdown of recent crime activity. Residents can also look up crime occurrences within a specific range of dates.

The map automatically syncs with HPD’s records system to keep crime information updated online. The map cleans and geocodes crime data and then displays all the incidents on a Google map.

Residents can click on a specific occurrence, which will pull up basic information on the incident, including the type of crime, location, block-level address, date and time.

Blake believes the department can improve trust, initiate community engagement and hopefully prevent and solve crimes by making the mapping information available to the public.

“When people see that these things are happening in their neighborhood, they can actually take some steps to not become a victim of a crime, especially the larcenies in particular,” Blake said.

The department has used a similar online crime mapping program for several years, he added. This is a chance to enhance the information that is available.

Not only is it an update, but it saves the department money. Typically, agencies can spend thousands of dollars annually through other crime mapping programs. 

CommSmart Global Group, a LexisNexis Risk Solutions Partner offers the map as a free service to any law enforcement agency that wishes to participate.

copyright 2017