CRIMETRACKER: Protecting yourself in crime-sensitive areas
Updated: 5/15/2009 12:52 pm | Published: 5/14/2009 9:07 pm
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - Crime in your neighborhood? It probably happens more than you think... But a new website is making it easier for residents to see what's going on in their own backyards.
It's called crimereports.com and every law enforcement agency in Utah loads new data intothe system specialized to local neighborhoods. Anything from pettyburglaries to rapes and murders the computer label and locates. It'sshowing that communities aren't quite as safe as most people think.
"Somebody can hide in the bushes or they can come down the trail and begone and there's nobody around to see come or go," said retired Salt Lake County detective and vicecop Frank Zeibert. It's why so many neighborhoods are crime hotspots.
People can look on the website for information about their zip codespecifically and find where the crimes happen. Most common are assaults,in parks, where people play every day.
Dangerous zip codes are everywhere from Kearns to Murrayto Orem. Parent we talked to are worried about places their kids play everyday.
"These kinds of places draw people. That's what they're for...is forpeople to come. You don't fish in an empty pool," Zeibertsaid.
Anyone can see what is going on in their neighborhood almost immediately andhave a powerful tool to hopefully keep themselves and their kids safe.
To view the website and look at crime in your neighborhood, follow the linkhere: http://crimereports.com.
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