Neighbourhood Crime Mapping

October 9, 2009

Following a previous article on how police officers in Saskatoon are using Facebook as a weapon to solve crime, here is a story on how the police officers in Edmonton may be causing a problem by using the Internet to fight crime.

The Edmonton Police Service has launched a Neighbourhood Crime Map which is a crime mapping application for the public to view crime in neighbourhoods across the city. Although this may provide the community with a convenient and accurate method of understanding what is really happening within their neighbourhood, this may also pose a threat on the real estate values of properties located in areas with a high level of criminal activities.

How should the Edmonton Police Service respond to realtors and home owners that are being affected by their online crime map?