Crimemapping.com lets users zero in on their neighborhoods

MANCHESTER – Manchester Police Chief David Mara said the crime mapping feature of the new Web site enables residents or potential residents to find out about the number and type of crime reported in a specific area of the city. Click here to view it. The data are updated every day.

Viewers can click on the icons in the target area to find out about crimes by type and location, or they can click on a button to generate a report and print it out.

If they don't immediately see the generate-report button, above the map on the right side of the screen, they should hide their favorites/bookmarks, and it will appear.

Viewers can specify the radius around a specific address, from 500 feet to two miles, during a specific time period. The report specifies the type of crime, the day, the time, and the location by block rather than specific number on a street.

For example, by specifying the address of Mayor-elect Ted Gatsas, at 105 Birchwood Road, with a radius of .2 miles, there were no crimes reported from Nov. 1 to 6. Expanding the radius to a half-mile resulted in two reports of criminal mischief.

For two alderman, the radius from their homes was significant. For Ward 7 Alderman William Shea, at 460 Vinton St., there were no crimes reported within the .2-mile radius from Nov. 1 to 6, but within a half-mile, there were seven crimes reported: four burglaries, two simple assaults and one stalking.

There was a dramatic jump in the crimes reported for Ward 5 Alderman Ed Osborne, at 465 Cedar St., when the radius was expanded. There were just two crimes reported within the .2-mile radius of Osborne's residence during the reporting period: an assault and a theft from a building. Within a half-mile, however, the number of crimes jumped to 32, including burglary, armed robbery, assault, possession of controlled drug, motor vehicle theft and criminal threatening.