MPD latest crime-fighting tool launches Friday

1270

A new iPhone application and link on the Maricopa Police Department’s website will allow residents to track crime in their neighborhoods and give police officers a jump-start on where to deploy resources.

CrimeReports.com, a national crime map, launches Friday and residents are invited to learn how to use the crime-fighting tool during Coffee with the Chief 8 a.m. Saturday at Maricopa Public Library.

Police Chief Steve Stahl meets with residents informally the second Saturday of the month.

“It’s a new tool to communicate crime trends and activities going on in our city,” Stahl said of the crime-reports software.

Sgt. Leonard Perez, the day shift supervisor, said the crime reports are pulled from daily calls “close to as real time as possible” and provide a means “to better articulate and define where we need our resources so we can be ahead of crime.”

The tool will be an instant help to fighting crime in the city, Perez said. “It increases the communication from officers all the way up to commanders.”

The service lets residents sign up for free customizable email updates, as well. More than a thousand law enforcement agencies nationwide share crime information through the national crime map, including Boston, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

While this month’s topic is the new crime-reports tool, Stahl said he hopes a sip of coffee and a bit of conversation once a month with the chief will coax residents to tell him what’s on their minds.

“I’m a firm believer in listening to what community members have to say about their police,” Stahl said.

He likes to meet out of uniform and with a tumbler of coffee in his hand. (He takes his “black, straight black.”)

“It’s more relaxed, and more people feel compelled to open up and be open with what’s on their minds,” Stahl said. “With a casual conversation we get to the point where people can say what’s good, what’s not, and we can make plans to improve together.”