Online Community Crime Map helps Sumner residents stay informed

An online tool used by the Sumner Police Department is helping residents stay informed about what’s going on in their community.

The Community Crime Map is an online software that shows researchers precise locations, times and types of crimes that have been committed locally. It’s accessible to the public at communitycrimemap.com.

“The main purpose is just to inform the public about what’s going on around them,” said Sumner Police Chief Brad Moericke.

On the website, residents can type in their Sumner addresses, or just type “Sumner, WA” into the search bar. Users can also choose a date range. Icons will then show up, suggesting different events. These events can range from criminal to noncriminal, including thefts, burglaries, traffic incidents, aggravated assault incidences, and more.

“Typically the most frequent are property crimes,” Moericke said. These occur for both vehicles and homes.

The significance of an online tool is that the map provides residents — and the Sumner Police Department — with a visual of possible problem areas. Once identified, they can be watched accordingly.

“It’s easier to identify patterns,” Moericke said.

The Sumner Police Department has been using online crime mapping since 2015, but recently switched over to a new Lexis Nexis software that’s part of the city of Sumner’s agreement with South Sound 911.

Now, not only is the city saving money on the new software, but the software serves a dual purpose for both residents and police.

“This one has the ability to be used internally and externally,” Moericke said. “For me, I can use it as an internal tool — (for example), where are we getting the most complaints of noise?”

Crime mapping is a way to keep the community informed, and in turn, keep it safer.

“An informed citizen is a safer citizen,” Moericke said.

This story was originally published April 3, 2017 at 11:45 AM with the headline "Online Community Crime Map helps Sumner residents stay informed."