A growing list of websites of special interest to crime analysts,
featuring previews designed to suggest why a visit should be worth your while.
Compiled and annotated by
Susan Wernicke
Crime Analyst
Overland Park, KS Police Department
PS Journal is dedicated exclusively to the world of public safety, including relevant technology, books, discussion boards, articles, job openings, and events. The site is highly recommended for beginning analysts, as well as advanced crime and intelligence analysts.
PS Journal is a general “catch all” type of website. Anyone can sign up for free to receive information on the latest technology and product news via email. Additionally, visitors to the site’s front page will find a feature Focus article, a Top Gun, GIS News, Cop Shop, and a Job Search and Technology Center, in addition to information on upcoming trade shows, and new (and not-so-new) books related to the field.
Of most interest to crime analysts may be the Focus articles. Past Focus articles have included Community Policing, Crime Stoppers, High-Tech Crime-Fighters, and Crime Mapping and the Internet. The next Focus article is scheduled to be “GIS and Crime Mapping.” Past Focus articles have been on crime analysts, the incoming President of the IACP, and other personal interest stories.
Also of interest to analysts will be the Top Gun feature. PS Journal describes a Top Gun as “the-best-of-the-best, someone in public safety who has gone above and beyond on the job”. It may be someone who has done something special, such as discovering a better way to perform a duty or someone who has contributed a lot to the world of public safety. The July issue's Top Gun is Don Chamberlayne, of MACA, and IACA, and the editor of the Crime Analyst's Round Table. Anyone can nominate a Top Gun. They even accept self-nominations.
The GIS News section is basically a compilation of recent news articles on GIS technology and press releases from various GIS companies. For any analyst interested in staying current with the latest releases of all types of GIS software, this is an excellent resource.
Cop Shop is probably the most disappointing feature on PS Journal. The website promises “other shops coming soon” but currently only a few books are offered. Despite entitling the link on the page as “Books by Experts on Crime Analysis”, the link takes the browser primarily to forensic science books. Hopefully this area of the website will be developed as more books on crime analysis are published.
Job Search is not yet available either. It promises that in the future, employers will be able to announce job openings on the website.
The Technology & You section has featured only two
articles thus far, both have been basically “advertisements” for
software. It's not clear what the criteria for a company posting
to this section actually are (whether they pay to have the information
posted or if PS Journal offers this service for free). As this
area of the site develops, it may become a great resource for research
on technology companies relevant to our profession.
Spotlighted July 10, 2001:
Urban Legends and Folklore is devoted exclusively to contemporary folklore – urban legends, rumors, internet hoaxes, chain letters, and the downright weird things that people believe. For instance, have you heard that children’s tattoos are being laced with LSD? Or, were you told that a hypodermic needle was found in a McDonald's playground after the object stuck a child? Or, did you receive an email advising that bananas have been spreading a flesh-eating disease?
As an analyst you will likely be contacted at some point by a department member, citizen, the media, or someone else about some seemingly outrageous event that has allegedly taken place. Before you further relay the information, this is an excellent site to refer to which will either verify the information… or not.
The moderator for the site is David Emery. He is a writer and an avid chronicler of urban folklore, with special emphasis on the lore and folk life of the internet. He has been collecting and writing about contemporary folklore on the internet since 1997. He says, “These tall tales we tell one another over coffee or share instantaneously by fax and email offer high hilarity, to be sure, but they can also provide deep insight into ourselves and the cultures in which we live.”
It would take hours, if not days to completely explore the entire site, which is filled with various articles and news regarding folklore, urban legends, and net hoaxes. The subject matter is broken down primarily by “subjects” (such as accidents, business, college, computers, food & drink, ghost stories, medical, etc.) and is very easy through which to maneuver.
A good analyst would check the site anytime anything “a little hokey” comes to the unit for verification before publishing and/or disseminating anything regarding the information.
Note: A second, similar, site is
http://www.snopes2.com/.
It contains some of the same information in the Urban Legends
site, but is much less complete and more difficult to maneuver.
Spotlighted June 26, 2001:
APBnews.com is the first news-centered network devoted exclusively to crime, justice and safety website covering the most intensively followed genre in media: police and crime news, personal and community anti-crime and safety information, and media and entertainment.
APBnews.com describes itself as ”The source for news, information and data on crime, justice and safety”. APBnews.com's mission, "To Inform and Serve," is based on the belief that the criminal justice system belongs to the citizens, and that by informing them about the system, we are also empowering them to improve it.
APBnews.com’s website is updated in a timely fashion, with current crime-related stories, pictures and videos added continually. Most articles are one page or less, but contain the basic facts, quotes, and details necessary for a clear, concise news article. The articles presented are factual and well documented. To a reader, it’s like getting the “Police Blotter” nationwide each day.
APBnews.com does offer a free email alert option where each day’s headlines are emailed directly to the subscriber. The site also opens a fairly open forum where anyone can post messages under several provided headings (i.e. Where do you stand on gun control? Would you want to witness an execution of a person who killed your relative? Etc). Also many legitimate responses are posted to the forum, there are just as many not on the up and up. There is also a link to listen to live police scanners (assuming you have a sound card on your computer).
Of
the many stories available on the website, less than 10% are probably
useful for crime analysts. The
stories are mostly focused on murders and sex crimes that have made
national media. However,
there have been timely articles on crime mapping, crime analysis,
statistics, studies, research, and technology in law enforcement.
This is a site worth exploring. Since the email alert just
contains the headlines of the news stories and is all contained in a
single email, the site is worth subscribing to and reviewing weekly,
if not more often.