Crime Statistics the Five Cities Term Paper

However, it would be inappropriate to conclude that the absence of available statistics means that the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office does not engage in analysis or crime mapping; they simply have not chosen to make that information available online.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg website is not as flashy or welcoming as the previous sites. However, it is extremely user friendly and offers a wide variety of services on the homepage. Like Denver and Tucson, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department allows victims to report crimes online. They also provide easy online access to a wide array of services, inkling: crime mapping, traffic accident locations and crash reporting, crime reports, 911 reports, significant events, victim resources, and homeland security. (Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department). In addition, the police department provides information on crime statistics on its homepage, reporting the changes in the rates of violent crimes, property crimes, and all arrests. (Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department). Interestingly, the website provided monthly and yearly statistics, which allowed the visitor to observe both macro and micro changes. It is clear that the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department engaged in analysis and engaged in crime mapping. Even more clear is that it used its analysis to guide its crime prevention programs. As a result, it is difficult to determine the reason for the area's high-crime rate. The city's analysis appeared to me more thorough than the similarly-situated cities that were studied. However, whether the thorough analysis was prompted by an existing high crime rate, or whether it simply resulted in a greater proportion of crimes being reported and detected, is impossible to determine from the website alone. However, the trends after 2004 suggest that the initially high crime rates were the result of better policing efforts, and that the area can expect to see a decline in the overall crime rate.

Of all of the websites visited, the Austin Police Department was the least visually impressive and appeared low-tech in comparison with the other websites. That fact came as a surprise to the author, who associated Austin with a high-tech environment.However, the website does make current and historical crime statistics available to the visitor. (Austin Police Department). The current statistics discuss events within the last 18 months.

The most interesting aspect of the Austin Police Department Statistics is that they carry a disclaimer, which indicates that they should not be compared to official reports. The reasons for this disclaimer include daily updates, offense reclassification, and the variance between the date offenses are committed and the date they are reported. It is clear that the police department engages in statistical analysis, because it allows the searches to be done by neighborhood, district, sector, and zip codes.

Austin Police Department). For example, they offer a crime listing by neighborhood association, by apartment complex, census tract, and zip code. Therefore, it is clear that the Austin Police Department engages in mapping. What is more difficult to determine is whether the Austin Police Department engages in the type of community crime-prevention programs that are prominently featured on the competing websites. Of course, it has information on crime prevention, including the citizens' police academy, neighborhood watch, national night out, gang suppression, burglary defense, and crime stoppers. However, these programs are not featured in an attractive manner, which gives the visitor the impression that they are not invested in their community outreach programs.

Works Cited

Austin Police Department. "Austin Police Department: Together We Can Make a Difference."

Austin City Connection. 2007. Austin, Texas. 17 Oct. 2007 http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/police/

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. "Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department."

CharMeck.org. 2007. Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina. 17 Oct. 2007 http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/CMPD/home.htm?header=www%2ecmpd%2eorg.

Denver Police Department. "Welcome to the Denver Police Department. Denver Police

Department. 2007. Denver, Colorado. 17 Oct. 2007 http://www.denvergov.org/Default.aspx?alias=www.denvergov.org/Police

Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. "Welcome to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office."

Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. 2007. PBSO.org. 17 Oct. 2007 http://www.pbso.org/.

Tucson Police Department. "Crime Maps." Tucson Police Department. 2007. Tucson,

Arizona. 17 Oct. 2007 http://tpdinternet.tucsonaz.gov/UCR/crmap/crmap.htm......