London police started using crime-mapping technology a little more than a year ago. Many major cities have been using this tool for a few years. In London, it’s already paid for itself in targeted crime reduction.
It amazes me that people still need to be told to lock their doors and vehicles, but they do. Police will track a spike in certain crimes in an area of the city and zero in on that area by providing information to residents, and even setting up bait traps. If you pictured a cartoon thief wearing a black Lone Ranger mask, carring a sack with a giant $ on it, getting his feet caught in a glue trap, well, you and I think alike. That’s the Looney Tunes version of how it works.
Last summer, there was a rash of break-ins at student residences in and around Western University and Fanshawe College. Officers noticed this trend and went door to door reminding students to lock their doors and windows and to keep electronics out of sight. As a result, in the following two months there was a 75% drop in robberies compared to the year before.
A Toronto officer conducting a courtesy check of my Yonge and St. Clair apartment’s security in the 1990s told me there’s no way to burglar proof your home. You just need to do all you can to make it less likely that it will be chosen for a break-in. Motion lights, locks, alarm systems – they all help. Thieves are looking for items they can turn over quickly for cash and they’ll bust into your car, your home or your doghouse if they think Fido has an iPad. The crime map is pretty cool and if I were planning to move to London, Toronto or any other city, I’d check it for hot-spots first. Thankfully, there’s almost nothing of note in my part of the city. If you’re interested, you can access the map HERE.