Police Announce Crime Mapping Software

The Haverford Township Police Department has a new tool to help residents become more aware of any crimes in the area: A map that shows offenses.

“Haverford Township residents can now access police incidents via crime mapping.   Not only in Haverford, but specifically on their home street," Police Chief Carmen D. Pettine told the township commissioners at a work session meeting.

Residents can go to the free crimereports.com and put in the town and state and a Google-powered map will show the search location.

People can then search for either multiple or certain types of crimes — such as home and car break-ins, assaults, DUI’s, Megan's Law sex offenders that include pictures and even accidents and fires — and a specialized pin that indicates the type of crime or incident will appear on the map, Pettine told the commissioners at the March 7 meeting.

“(People can) use this site to search for a specific date, or look back over a period of time, usually three to 30 days. The system will archive six months of data,” Pettine said.

People can view the map, which includes street names, as a map or as a satellite image or a combination of both. A screen capture image of the map accompanies this article. 

The map also features a free registration where people can sign up for e-mail notifications of crimes or incidents on their streets.

The system is updated every 24 hours, confirmed Pettine.

Mario Oliva, 2nd Ward commissioner, excitedly told his fellow commissioners that Crime Reports has an iPhone app.