Full Notification

Title:  Public Website Allows Residents to View Real-Time Crime Statistics

Narrative:

One of the most effective ways to fight crime is to have as much information as possible about the crime in question: when it happened, where it happened, why it happened and the identity of the suspect.  Law enforcement deputies, detectives, and crime analysts are trained to collect and interpret this type of information, and find innovative solutions to stop the criminal activity occurring in specific areas.  Technology is constantly evolving to enhance the overall efficiency of law enforcement, allowing safety officials to analyze information in a more comprehensive method.  Let me introduce you to what is considered a breakthrough in the world of law enforcement, CrimeMapping.com

CrimeMapping.com has assisted participating law enforcement agencies since 1992.  This website was developed as a way to provide information to citizens about the crimes in their area, in hopes that a better informed community will help to reduce criminal activity.  According to CrimeMapping.com's website, "Creating more self-reliance among community members is a great benefit to community oriented policing efforts everywhere and has been proven effective in combating crime."

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department uses a database named "LARCIS" (Los Angeles Regional Crime Information System) to input all crime statistics.  After deputies gather information from victims, that information is entered into the database by Malibu/Lost Hills Station secretaries.  Every 24 hours, this information is automatically shared with the CrimeMapping.com database and is uploaded to their website and made available to the public.  This user-friendly website allows the public to search for crimes that have occurred in their area as recently as from the previous day.  Users enter their policy agency into the search bar, and view the results in a map-style format.  Icons will alert viewers about the type of crime that has occurred, when and where it occurred, as well as a short description of the crime.

Station detectives are using this resource as well.  Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff's Crime Analyst Louise Ramirez is responsible for gathering and analyzing crime statistics and developing a comprehensive view of what is happening in our area.  For example, the CrimeMapping.com website assisted Ramirez in discovering that residential burglaries in our area have increased within the last month.  In viewing these crime stats, Ramirez can see that certain neighborhoods in both Calabasas and areas in Malibu have had higher-than-normal incidents of homes broken into during specific hours of the day.  She can see that most burglaries occurred when windows and doors were left unlocked.  CrimeMapping.com helps Ramirez to see these trends, information she can then present to station detectives who strategize methods to combat the problem.          

The Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff's Station realizes that working together with the community we serve will only enhance the way we fight crime.  Technology such as CrimeMapping.com has assisted our station in visualizing patterns and helps supervisors to identify times, area, and trends of criminal activity so that they can maximize their efforts to prevent crime.  This technology assists law enforcement in analyzing the need for increased directed patrol time by deputies in areas being targeted by suspects, and the strategic use of the Volunteers on Patrol Program, bike patrol, and neighborhood watch programs.  The more information that people are provided with, the better prepared they are to deter and prevent crime in their own community.  The Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff's Station is very optimistic about the opportunity to partner with the citizens in our area, and they want to urge everyone to explore CrimeMapping.com to familiarize themselves with the criminal activity occurring in their community.

Prepared by: LET Heather Fuquay

Media Release Date: August 23, 2014
 

* Lost Hills Sheriff's Station polices the Cities of Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Malibu and Westlake Village, and the unincorporated communities of Chatsworth Lake Manor, Malibu Lake, Topanga, and West Hills:




For further information contact:

Malibu / Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
27050 Agoura Road
Agoura, CA 91301
(818) 878-1808
Website: www.LostHills.lasd.org
LASD HQ Text and Emails: http://www.Nixle.com
http://nixle.com/lasd---malibulost-hills-station-los-angeles-county-sheriff/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LostHillsSheriffsStation
Twitter https://twitter.com/LHSLASD