Letter to the Editor: Crime In Coronado

 

In years past, we had a more comprehensive reporting of all crime in Coronado in the local newspaper from the Coronado Police Department. However, today citizens could check crime stats on their computer from info provided by the Police Department. In the past, I plotted  crime on  Coronado map and  could see the areas where most of the crime was being committed. If there were continuous minor burglaries/thefts in a block or two area, you could assume that there may be someone in that area that needed money for a drug habit? If lots of bicycles were stolen, it could be assumed that care was not taken in locking the bicycles, they didn't have a noise  alarm system if the lock was breached, or little thought was given in where the person parked it. If there were more home, car, bicycle or business crimes in one area of the city than another, then one would expect the police to cruise through that area every hour or so, and closely look at windows broken, screens cut, someone sitting or eating in a parked car, or "stake out" the area.

 
It is said that most crime is committed in the daytime, when people are at work or elsewhere. I found at the time I was plotting the crime over time in Coronado, from police reports in the local newspaper, that the Police Department did not have a similar system. Today, with so many electronic devices, the effort to plot crime by time, place, etc. and to keep a constant electronic map is possible and would be very useful for citizen security and  PD security patrols. Surveillance could  be provided by strategically positioned  stationary electronic devices for stakeouts, etc. (which may be going on now?) and so on. I would think that Coronado should have a system of sorts to prevent and catch criminals who are adding to the crime statistics here. It may be that the citizens have to demand it?
 

Earle Callahan

Comments

[Dan Megna]

Statistical crime mapping is alive and well and has been widely used for many years. ARJIS (Automated Regional Justice Information System) is the system used by all law enforcement agencies throughout the county. The ARJIS regional crime mapping gives you lots of tools to search just about anything...

http://mapping.arjis.org/CrimeMAPS/

[Dan Megna]

This is a another crime mapping that has been recently promoted here in San Diego. I've not looked too closely at it or compared it against the information from ARJIS...

http://www.crimemapping.com/