By Brian McBride
Associate Editor

Wondering why there were several Kissimmee police cars at the home down the road the other day?

Well, with the help from the police department’s website and several clicks of a computer mouse, residents can have that information overnight.

Crimemapping.com allows residents to view maps, charts and details about crimes that have been committed in their neighborhoods.

The link to crimemapping.com is on the department’s website at police.kissimmee.org and under the category“helpful links.” It’s updated nightly, police officials said.

“One of the best ways to get citizens to be involved is for them to know what is going on in their neighborhoods. We want citizens to be able to see what areas crime is increasing and also decreasing,” Kissimmee Police Department Capt. James Napier said. “Knowing that criminal activity is occurring in their neighborhood should urge them to keep a watchful eye for suspicious persons, lock up their vehicles and call the department upon seeing something suspicious.”

The website shows a map of Kissimmee with different keys plotted to represent different crimes. For example, the red fist represents an assault; the green can spraying paint refers to vandalism; an aqua-colored sign depicting a swerving car shows where a DUI arrest was made; and a blue ski mask represents robbery, among other icons.

Clicking on the key, a box pops up giving information on the crime including the case report number, the date it happened, the address of the occurrence and a brief description. There is a link in the box to zoom in and pinpoint where the crime happened. Another link shows in miles how far away the crime was from a certain Kissimmee location by typing in an address – meaning a resident could learn how far the crime was from his or her home.

Crimemapping.com also allows website users to register to receive e-mails when a crime occurs in a radius of their choosing. A detailed report will be sent out explaining exactly what crimes occurred and where they happened.

But this tool not only helps residents, police officials said.

“The information provided to Crimemapping is information we use daily to watch for crime trends and to apply resources and tactics to combat that criminal activity. Officers can use this to determine what items are being stolen in a geographic area, as well as note the times the crime is occurring,” Napier said. “This information can be used daily by the officers to patrol the area more frequently, contact persons in the area and to educate the residents of that neighborhood.”

Communication between residents and their police department is essential in crime prevention, Chief Fran Iwanski said.

“Crimemapping.com allows the Kissimmee Police Department to achieve that goal and educate our citizens on crimes that are being reported around them,” she said.