During the Board of Police Commissioners meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 25, the Regina Police Service released a new interactive public crime map.
The information in Community Crime Map is provided by the Regina Police Service as part of its commitment to transparency to local citizens.
The Community Crime Map is an interactive application intended to create a visual reflection of police data. The location of reported crimes will not map an exact address but give citizens a general idea of the locations for which Regina police are receiving reports.
Regina Police Service Chief Evan Bray says the tool can be used by citizens to practice safe crime prevention methods.
The Community Crime Map will include reports of break and enters, theft, mischief, assault, robbery, impaired driving and other traffic violations.
The map intentionally excludes sexual assaults, homicides, overdoses and sudden deaths due to the nature, sensitivity and potential for identification of victims and families.
“Some of those crimes are very personal so it’s about finding that balance between protecting people’s privacy and information and providing information to the city in a way they can understand, digest it and hopefully give themselves tools to keep themselves safe and free from victimization,” said Bray.
The Regina Police Service is aware that maps like this will spotlight areas in the city where higher volumes of crime are happening.
Bray hopes that this will lead to greater understanding of where investments should take place in the city.
“While it does paint a picture and show a reflection of some of the challenges that we have in our community, I think it also maybe illustrates some opportunities and gives us more information, more data and gives us more ability to explore areas that we can make improvements in.”
Although this resource is mainly provided for the public it will also help the Regina Police Service continue to respond according to trends they are experiencing in the city.