Winter Haven joins crime-tracking website

WINTER HAVEN -  

In the old days, your neighbor would lean over the fence and tell you if someone's house had been broken into -- but there's new way to find out if a crook has struck your neighborhood.

Winter Haven just went online with the website Crime Reports.com -- a website where people can see what crimes have happened close to their home, or possibly their kids' schools.

According to the site, Winter Haven is one of more than 500 law enforcement agencies in North America participating so far.

Crimes appear on the site within 24 hours of when they occurred. The law enforcement agencies upload and control the information, then the website geocodes it, and sends e-mail alerts to those who have requested it.

"I think this is something not to make you fearful, but something to give you insight and knowledge, and cause you to be more aware of what's going on around you," said Jane Wells, with the Interlaken Neighborhood Association.

Along with who, what, where and when, the site will give you a case number. That way, if you want to find out the details, you can contact the police, and they'll look them, up for you.

Realtors might want to check out the crime rate before they put a house up for sale. Parents sending a kid off to college might want to get a feel for the area surrounding it.

Police say the new system is a way to get important info directly and quickly to the people who need it, rather than relying on the media or word of mouth.

"We're depending on watching a certain channel at a certain time, or reading a certain newspaper. This is available to everyone. And nowadays, computer technology seems to be where a lot of people go for their information," said Sgt. Brad Coleman, with the Winter Haven Police Department.

The website can automatically e-mail you when something happens close to you.

To check it out, go to http://www.crimereports.com./