On the heels of the CHP's traffic accidents map, the Crime Reports website has a map of crimes in Altadena over the past month. (Thanks to reader Snow for pointing us to this). The source listed is Altadena station, and we've made some inquiries to find out more. We'll let you know when (and if!) they respond.
UPDATE 5:30 PM: just heard from one of our sources at the sheriff's station — neither he nor his lieutenant know about this, and they're looking into it. We figure this information is coming from an official source (i.e. not swiped from our crime log or the sheriff's station's crime log) because it includes a couple of crimes we personally know that occurred but didn't make it into the crime log — including a theft from OUR VERY OWN CAR! Stay tuned!
UPDATE 4/15: Says our sheriff's source:
The detective sergeant chooses what to list in [the crime log]. The website does seem to have more complete info. It appears they get it directly from dept. records somehow. The website says it comes straight from the CAD (computer aided dispatch) system but I notice it has been edited some (ie. showing hundred blocks instead of house numbers). Nothing from today is listed so I bet they actually get a daily summary from our Communication Center which is in East LA. CAD is in real time and unedited so they can't be directly tied to the CAD or they would have addresses, names, everything. Very interesting though, the dept. didn't bother to tell anyone they were going to do this. I wonder what they get in return?
Snow said…
You’ll notice you can get not only Altadena, but pretty much nationwide (although Pasadena seems to have opted out), for a variety of time periods and a variety of types of crimes. Check the pull-down menus; they’re very entertaining.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009 at 01:42 PM
Snow said…
Well, as to your source’s curiosity about what they get out of the whole deal, I would guess they get a free crime mapping service, something that can be quite useful but that can take a lot of time for someone inside the department. Reading over the various FAQs and About Us sections, the people running that website seem to be pitching their wares mostly to police departments. I’d like to see them track fire runs as well, which would pick up the emergency medical stuff too. I do wonder at which end the addresses and other identifying information are removed.
Thursday, April 16, 2009 at 10:34 AM