Edinburg PD Unveils Crime Incidence Mapping Website
Edinburg TX – November 1, 2022
Photo above: A screenshot shows the website map pinpointing the number of incidents around a selected location in Edinburg.
Edinburg residents will now have a way to see an online map of where crimes, traffic accidents and other incidents have occurred. Edinburg Police Chief Jaime Ayala announced at this week’s Edinburg City Council meeting that the new system will be accessible to the public starting next week.
“There’s going to be two sides to this,” Ayala told the Edinburg City Council. “The most important is the public facing side for our community, our business owners being able to access data that happening in our neighborhoods, crime that is occurring, crashes that are occurring. They’re going to be able to go in and search by date and time, etc. This is our way to trying to be as transparent as possible to identify where issues are occurring.”
Carla Bautista, Edinburg Police Department Crime and Intelligence Analyst, went through the website to demonstrate how it works. The department plans to launch the website the week of November 7.
A website visitor can select a specific address in Edinburg and then see a map showing where certain crimes were located. The address is generally not specific but does indicate at which block the crime was committed. A user can select the time frame (days, weeks, months) for the data they want to see. A user can also select the size of the area (1/4 mile, ½ mile, etc.) they want to research.
The map then shows points where crimes have been committed within the time frame and geographic radius selected. Each point can be selected to show more details about what kind of crime or incident happened there. The data is updated every 15 minutes.
The site allows users to create customized alerts specific to the things that interest the user.
Bautista stressed that users’ data is not tracked.
Accoridng to Ayala, he was not aware of any other Rio Grande Valley that uses this system. However, some cities have developed their own way of allowing citizens to access data on criminal and traffic incidents.
Council Member Jason De Leon commended Ayala and the department for their work in setting up the system for Edinburg residents. “I think this a great addition for our residents, and I think this is something everyone can utilize. I think you all for bring this to Edinburg.”
Ayala explained that some crimes will not be listed on the data. “I think it’s important to note that there are some crimes, some offenses you won’t see on there, sex crimes, some drug offenses, some of the information we just don’t need to be putting out on the map. But, for the most part, everything that somebody would be really interested in is going to be available for them to search.”
Ayala added that the officers will also have access to the website through a different portal and with more details. This will help officers as they prepare to start their shifts to know what has been happening in their patrol area.
The system is purchases on a subscription basis and costs approximately $150,000 per year.
Residents can access the site by visiting the Police Department’s website, starting next week, at: https://cityofedinburg.com/departments/police/index.php