Chattanooga police and the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office have joined a nationwide website that allows people to see reported crimes by type, time frame and location.
Residents can view the site — CrimeReports.com — and type in an address to find out crimes reported in that area over a three-, seven-, 14- or 30-day period. They can also define a date range.
So far, records go back to June.
"Providing reliable, timely information to our citizens is one of our top priorities," said Chattanooga police Chief Bobby Dodd. "And partnering with CrimeReports gives us the ability to keep the public informed on a regular basis as to what is going on in the community."
Hamilton County Sheriff's Capt. Bill Johnson, who heads investigative services for the department, said the site will help the public stay informed.
"This is a great way for the public to have immediate information," he said. "We get a lot of inquiries from citizen groups and neighborhood watch captains. This gives them a tool to go in and focus on their neighborhood or an area of interest."
The website also will help his detectives map crimes in the county, he said.
The site allows users to look for specific crimes such as robbery, assault, homicide or community policing activities.
The database links to the Tennessee Sex Offender registry and shows the most-recent addresses of sex offenders with a photo of the offender.
According to a Chattanooga police news release, the site displays crime information from more than 1,600 police departments across North America.
The site works by collecting crime data that has been entered into law enforcement records management systems on a daily basis. CrimeReports.com takes the data and plugs it into mapping software, which plots the location geographically, said Ron Bernard, manager of the information technology department for the sheriff office.
The cost for the site is shared by several local police agencies, said Chattanooga police spokeswoman Sgt. Jerri Weary.
She did not have an amount that Chattanooga police would pay.
The sheriff's department's share will cost $2,200 annually, officials said.
Todd South covers courts and the military for the Times Free Press. He has worked at the paper for three years and previously covered crime and safety in Southeast Tennessee and North Georgia. Todd’s hometown is Dodge City, Kan. He served five years in the U.S. Marine Corps and deployed to Iraq before returning to school for his journalism degree from the University of Georgia. Todd previously worked at the Anniston (Ala.) Star. Contact Todd ...
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