Northfield Township, Michigan

Crime mapping is one tool used by officers to alert them of crime patterns or trends in their patrol areas. The "randomness" of crimes and/or criminal behavior, makes it difficult to track, detect or predict exact patterns in most incidents.

Having knowledge of the crimes and patterns of crimes in your neighborhoods not only provides you with factual data, but arms you with the knowledge and awareness of how to better protect yourselves. Often- times, you are only made aware of crimes by what you read in the newspaper, see on the news, or from the gossip you hear in and around your neighborhoods. More often than not, this information has been filtered or altered by the time it gets to you.

Timeliness of information is always an issue involved with fighting crime. Too often, we become aware of crime only after the victim discovers the crime and reports it to the police. Our goal is to alert the public so they may take the necessary steps to prevent being victimized. One example of this may be:

Making you aware that someone is breaking into cars in your neighborhood may prompt you to take the extra step to lock your car doors, turn on your outside lights, or park your car inside your garage to avoid becoming victimized.

The crime mapping addition to the Web site is a work in progress and will be adjusted as necessary in order to provide you with the most user-friendly application possible. Different versions of maps are being explored frequently and are subject to change without notice. We are working on the most efficient way to provide you with the information you need including dates and times for the offenses.

Each map will have a legend detailing the types of crimes included on the map; it will also show the range of dates selected for the crime data. Dates and times for each specific crime (s) will be added either to the map as a visible layer, or on a separate spreadsheet. Too much information on a large site map can overcrowd the map and distort the information. Residential parcels, buildings, addresses, and smaller residential streets are also shut off for this purpose.

*DISCLAIMER* Please read the following disclaimer regarding crime mapping and statisical information.