SALT LAKE CITY, Jan. 30, 2008 - Utahns can now check their e-mail to find out if there's a crime problem in their neighborhood. Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and Utah Speaker of the House Greg Curtis announced today the nation's first statewide plan offering up-to-date crime reports for individual neighborhoods. The free service at www.crimereports.com also includes easy-to-read maps so people can see exactly what types of crimes are occurring and where.

"Knowledge is power especially when it comes to finding out if your neighborhood is safe. CrimeReports.com will arm Utahns with the information they need to protect their families," says Attorney General Mark Shurtleff.

Here's what you can do at the new Web site:

• Sign up for daily (or less frequent) e-mail updates about crime in your neighborhood.
• View maps showing types of crime and when and where they are occurring.
• See addresses and photos of registered sex offenders living in your neighborhood.

Local law enforcement agencies will also be able to identify trends and trouble spots through cross-jurisdictional data sharing.

Debby Conner was one of the first Utahns to sign up for the service. Conner is the Public Safety Coordinator for the Kearns Community Council and she believes it will make a huge difference in keeping her community safe. "This is so exciting," says Conner. "It gives you the information to pinpoint trouble areas so we can let friends and neighbors know how to protect themselves."

"This website will give Utahns an important tool to learn if their neighborhood is safe. A better informed public will also help individual neighborhoods work with law enforcement to tackle crime problems," says Speaker of the House Greg Curtis.

Speaker Curtis and Representative Steve Urquhart were instrumental in getting $150,000 to fund the first year of the pilot program. CrimeReports.com has 38 different law enforcement agencies signed up for the program and hopes to have all agencies on board during the first year of service. Local agencies will still have the ability to control the data that is released to the web site.

"This announcement is a tremendous credit to state and local law enforcement," says Greg Whisenant, President and CEO of Public Engines. "By committing to this project, public officials are engaging the public in a way that has not been previously contemplated."

Washington, D.C., San Jose, California and several other cities are already using the Web site. Utah will be the largest geographic area ever to use the service. As of today's announcement, the following Utah law enforcement agencies are participating in the CrimeReports.com program: Brigham City, Box Elder County, Clinton, Davis County, Draper, Ephraim, Heber, Holladay, Logan, Midvale, Millard County, Murray, North Park, Park City, Perry, Pleasant Grove, Provo, Richfield, Riverdale, Salt Lake County, Sandy, Santaquin/Genola, Saratoga Springs, Snow College, South Jordan, South Salt Lake City, St. George, Southern Utah University, Summit County, Taylorsville, Tooele, Tooele County, Tremonton, University of Utah, Utah County, Wasatch County and Washington City and Woods Cross.

The CrimeReports.com service is free to the public and contains no advertising. When the initial twelve month free period has concluded, agencies may opt to continue participating in the project for $99 - $199/month based on the size of the population they serve.

The press conference can be viewed live via Web cast on the Attorney General's Web site. It will also be archived following the press conference on our page at Ustream.tv.

About the Utah Attorney General's Office

The mission of the Office of the Utah Attorney General is to uphold the constitutions of the United States and of Utah, enforce the law, provide counsel to state agencies and public officials, assist law enforcement, and protect the interests of the state, its people, environment and resources.

About Public Engines

Public Engines is helping government agencies manage the sharing of data directly with local communities. Through its first product, CrimeReports.com, Public Engines provides law enforcement agencies with an affordable and easy-to-use Web-based service for sharing crime data with the public in near real-time. Community members can then access this information for free, empowering them to make informed decisions to help improve the safety of their families, friends, property and the community at large. For more information, please visit www.publicengines.com or www.crimereports.com.

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Media Contacts:
Jon Hawkins jhawkins@politis.com, 801-523-3730
Paul Murphy pmurphy@utah.gov, 801-538-1892