breaking news

Sheriff's Office Launches New Crime Map

By: Tyler Thomason

Updated: November 29, 2012

"This program to me, is top notch", says Capt. Hunter Petray of the Benton County Sheriff's Office.

A county-wide crime map that, with a few clicks, turns your mouse into a compass.

"Every crime out there, it will map it," Petray says.

The latest online tool for the Benton County Sheriff's Office launched Tuesday, and unlike other online crime maps in the state: developed in-house.

"For a law enforcement persepective, it gives us an opportunity to visually see what's going on in the county," Petray adds.

From purse-snatching to sideswiping -- detailing every delinquent act.

"So here, we can see that on last Sunday at approximately 5:30, there was a breakout of crime," says specialist Jonathan Bailey, who helped develop the program.

At the county level, it's one of the only crime maps statewide to allow interactive public access.

"In their community, in their neighborhood, even down to their street," Petray says. "You know for me, if i was a citizen, thinking about moving to Northwest Arkansas, thinking about moving to Benton County, I would want to know where the high-crime areas are."

The program comes to the county thanks to a $15,000 grant and a year's worth of developmental work.

As this proactive approach to patrol aims to make streets a little safer in Benton County.

"The criminal is always out there looking to get one step ahead of us, and we're just not going to allow it to happen," Petray says.

Training sessions will be held next week for those wanting to learn more on how to use the crime maps.
Sessions will be held Monday, Dec. 3 from 2 to 4 p.m. and Wednesday, Dec. 5 from 9 to 11 a.m. All sessions will be held in the Benton County court room, inside the administration building.

To visit the crime map website, click below:
http://maps.co.benton.ar.us/MapsandStats/index.html