Broken Arrow Police Introduce New CrimeMapping Website

The Broken Arrow Police Department is taking steps to be more open with the public about crime in the city. The police department is now using CrimeMapping. It's a website that can show Broken Arrow residents when and where crimes have happened.

Broken Arrow Police Chief Brandon Berryhill said this tool helps the police department be more open with residents about anything that happens in the city.

"Transparency is something that we are always striving for and that we can produce the stats for. This allows the public to produce stats on their own, on their own scale, and on their own time," Berryhill said.

From DUIs to assault to theft, residents can do a quick search of crimes committed within the past six months. Residents can also see if there are any trends forming with certain crimes in their area.

"It’s great because people get on social media and somebody says something, and everyone panics. You don’t know if that’s a real trend or that’s not a real trend. This way they can actually see what’s really going on in their neighborhood and know for a fact," Berryhill said.

Arguably the biggest benefit of CrimeMapping is how residents can set up alerts for different crimes.

"There is an advantage with the new system because you can set up an alert prior to an event. So you can type in your name, register with your email address, define what things you want to see, and as those things occur in your defined area, you receive an alert to let you know these things are happening," Berryhill said.

Once residents sign up, they will receive alerts as soon as the police department enters that information into its system.

CrimeMapping will allow residents to see crimes committed in a radius of up to two miles wide.

However, residents will not be able to see the exact address where crimes have been committed. They will be able to see the 100 block where the crime was committed.