The Greater Sudbury Police Service is pleased to announce the launch of Crime Plot, a new crime mapping tool that will be available for public use. On Friday, May 27th, this tool which is designed to create public awareness on the geographical clusters of specific crime types will be available through the Greater Sudbury Police Service web site (www.gsps.ca).

Crime Plot provides data primarily on property related offences with a few exceptions. The crime data represented will include; Arson, Assault, Break and Enter, Homicide, Mischief, Stolen Vehicle, Shoplift, Robbery, Theft, Trespass, and Weapons.

Crime Plot will display thirty days of data and will be updated Monday to Friday. The data will be thirty days delayed from the present day when viewing the information. As data is continuously added, any previous existing data that no longer falls within the 30-day timeframe will no longer be available on Crime Plot. Further, Crime Plot does not depict all crime types in an area and not all criminal activity is reported, therefore caution must be observed when making inferences from this data.

Occurrences that are sensitive in nature such as Sexual Assaults, Suicides or Suicide Attempts will not be displayed on Crime Plot. This is to ensure the protection of the identity of victims. To further protect the identity of victim locations, the markers on the map that represent crime incident will be randomly displaced by up to 200 meters to ensure that the exact address is unknown.

Through the sharing of this important information, Sudbury Police look to citizen engagement in being vigilant to suspicious activity in their neighbourhoods. “An informed citizen is an engaged citizen,” said Chief of Police Paul Pedersen. “By increasing awareness, the Sudbury Police hopes to enhance Community Safety and Well-being through Our Shared Commitment with the citizens of Greater Sudbury.

Sudbury Police reminds citizens of their responsibility to take preventative safety measures in regards to themselves and their property. These can include actions such as locking of property or the installation of motion lights to deter these types of offences.

Individuals using the maps will be required to acknowledge their use of the maps with a disclaimer wherein they are requested to accept the Terms of Use when accessing Crime Plot.

Greater Sudbury Police Service would like to acknowledge Midland Police Service who is credited with the construction and maintenance of the tool. Sudbury is pleased to join a list of fifteen other Municipal Police Services to release Crime Plot to the public. Crime Plot can be found through www.gsps.ca.