It’s Not Dragnet, But It’s On The Internet Spokane Police Putting Crime, Accident Statistics On The Web

The Spokane Police Department is on the Internet.

The department is one of the few law enforcement agencies in the country to create a home page on the Internet’s World Wide Web.

Anyone with access to the worldwide network of computers can get Spokane crime statistics and department press releases.

Computer users also can view pictures and profiles of several officers and read about a variety of police programs.

Within six months, officers hope to break down the statistics by neighborhood, so people can learn how many burglaries, thefts and incidents of vandalism occur in their areas.

“This way, they can get unfiltered information,” said officer Rick Albin, one of the creators of the home page. “They don’t have to rely on the media; they don’t have to wait for something to come in the mail.”

The page also will include the department’s electronic mail addresses. That way, people can comment, ask questions and request specific information, Albin said.

Volunteers will reply to as many requests as possible, he said.

“If it makes more work for us, then it’s work that’s out there that needs to be done,” he said.

Internet On-Ramp Inc., a Spokane-based link to the Internet, is providing the Police Department with a free account and data storage space. Those services normally would cost about $400 a year.

“So it’s a great bargain for the taxpayers,” said Police Chief Terry Mangan. “This fulfills a goal to get on the I-Net and communicate with the public.”

Already available on the home page are the Police Department newsletter, bulletins from various justice agencies and descriptions of volunteer and youth programs.

Coming soon will be information on the most dangerous intersections in town, the number of citations police are writing and the location of accidents in the city.

Officers are hoping the Spokane Public Library will provide easy access to the Police Department home page to computer users logging onto the Internet via the library.

Cpl. John Moore, who helped create the page, said he expects more departments to go on-line.

“This is a tool law enforcement agencies have been slow to use,” he said. “I think that once they see what we are doing, they will copy it.”

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: WEB SITE The Spokane Police Department’s web site is located at: http://www.ior.com/~spd/