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Crime Alerts at Your Fingertips in Boston

Posted on: Tuesday, 20 June 2006, 06:00 CDT

By KEN MAGUIRE

BOSTON - Phil Carver may never see the white Maxima stolen near his neighborhood, but the description e-mailed to him by the Boston Police Department will be in the back of his head when he goes for a walk with his kids.

Boston has become the latest - and largest - U.S. city to launch a crime alert system designed to get the word out about murders, bank robberies and other crimes to residents and businesses via e-mail, text messaging and fax.

"This is stuff I can tell my neighbors," Carver said. "At the very least it keeps people on their toes and aware of what's going on. The more people are aware and involved, the less crime you'll have."

Carver, who lives in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood, is among an estimated 1,000 people who have registered since early June shortly after the program was launched in Boston, which has seen a spike in crime over the past 18 months.

Alerts are sent not only about various violent crimes, but also about trends, such as car break-ins. Specific types of businesses, such as pizza shops, can be warned of robberies. Alerts also can be sent about fugitives and missing persons.

The program is designed to both disseminate and solicit information, at a time when prosecutors complain that witnesses too often remain quiet. The program allows anonymous tips.

"The idea of this is to close cases," said Joseph Porcelli, civilian community service officer with the Boston Police Department. "What gets sent out is information that the community needs to know, or can take action on."

The department's first alert was about a May 30 bank robbery in South Boston. A young woman wearing dark sunglasses and a Gap sweat shirt made off with an undetermined amount of cash.

An alert was sent after two men were fatally shot outside a Dorchester store on Wednesday afternoon. None of the cases have been solved, but officials say there are success stories in other cities using the technology.

Cincinnati, Fort Worth, Texas, and Durham, N.C., are among the nearly 300 communities and law enforcement agencies that use the system. The service is provided by Citizen Observer, a company based in St. Paul, Minn.

"A phone tree can take hours and days. This, you can get in a matter of seconds," said Sgt. Eric E. Franz, who runs the program for the Cincinnati Police Department and estimates he sends about three alerts per week.

An alert was sent shortly after a downtown Cincinnati bank was robbed in March. A clothing store owner received the alert on his cell phone, and called moments later.

"A guy had just left his business. He bought new clothing and paid with cash," Franz said of the bank robber, who was later arrested on a city bus.

That's the exception, not the norm, however. Franz estimates about a dozen crimes have been solved as a result of the 300 alerts they've issued in the past two years. Each alert generated about 100 calls from the public, he said.

Citizen Observer was created by Scott Roberts, who launched an Internet crusade in Minnesota six years ago leading to the arrest of a man who shot his mother. To receive alerts, users register for free at Citizen Observer's Web site.

The Boston program is being piloted in three neighborhoods: South Boston, Dorchester, and Roxbury. Mayor Thomas Menino said he wants to expand it to the whole city.

So far, Carver has received only two alerts. But Carver says the more chances he has to stay on top of crime, the better.

"As a father of three living in the city, any tool we can use to stay aware and spread information about crime is a good thing," said Carver, president of the Pope's Hill Neighborhood Association.

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On the Net:

Boston Police Department: http://www.cityofboston.gov/police 

Citizen Observer: http://www.citizenobserver.com

Source: Associated Press/AP Online

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