Scott D. Benton, Chief of Police
20 Essex St
Whitman, MA 02382
For Immediate Release
Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2018
Contact: Benjamin Paulin
Phone: 781-742-3922
Email: ben@jgpr.net
Whitman Police Now Active on Online Crime Mapping Website
WHITMAN — Chief Scott D. Benton is pleased to announce that Whitman residents can now access a website that maps crime in town and helps keep people up-to-date on what is occurring in their neighborhood.
CrimeMapping.com features an interactive map of Whitman that allows users to select approximate locations where crimes in town occurred.
Several types of crimes are displayed as icons on the map including burglaries, larcenies, assaults, fraud and motor vehicle thefts. Each crime listed has its own symbol. For example, a larceny event is displayed as a dollar sign and vandalism is shown as a spray paint can.
Clicking on an icon reveals the date, time, incident number and block that the crime occurred on, along with a brief description. Exact addresses are not listed.
While the Whitman Police Department responds to thousands of calls each year, the Crime Mapping website will only display calls that involve a crime. The only type of crime that will not be displayed on the map are sex crimes, as revealing their locations could be harmful to the victims.
Crimes are searchable through a date range and the database is updated daily by pulling information directly from the Whitman Police Department’s records management system. This ensures that the information that is available is accurate and up-to-date.
In addition, users can set up alerts so that they are notified of a new crime event being listed on the site either by text or email. The website also organizes the collected data by the types of crime and days of the week they occurred, and can go back as far as 180 days.
“We believe this map is a great way for residents to stay informed of what is going on in their neighborhood. If there is an uptick in crime in their area, residents can take extra precautions to protect themselves and their belongings,” Chief Benton said. “I would like to thank Josh MacNeil, the town’s IT Director, for his efforts in helping to bring this resource to our community.”
The website features a link to the town’s anonymous online email tip service which Chief Benton encourages residents to use. However, people should always call 911 if they have an emergency.
More information can be found on the town’s website, along with a direct link to the Whitman Crime Mapping site.
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