Clemson Police upgrades crime mapping tool to keep residents informed

CLEMSON, S.C. (WSPA) – “Crime Mapping” is an online tool that helps residents and businesses stay in the loop about criminal activity in the area.

Chief Jorge Campos said crime mapping shows what, where and when incidents happen.

“We get a lot of requests from people who are moving to Clemson, either for the university or for other reasons,” said Chief Campos. “They want to know about the neighborhoods that they’re moving into and about the crime that may be there.”

Chief Campos said the police department has upgraded its software, showing various criminal activity such as burglary, larceny, hit and runs and more.

What the map doesn’t show is detailed information about sexual assault in an effort to protect the identity of vicitims.

“First go to our website, which is clemsonpd.org, and at the top you’ll see a list of links. One of those links says ‘Crime Info.’ When you click on that, it will open up another page and it’ll go to the crime mapping software,” said Chief Campos.

You can set a custom date range from a day to a year. Chief said by clicking on “Icons,” a description of the crime will pop up showing location type and time.

“In the upper right hand corner of the page, there’s a little icon that looks like a bell for alerts. If you click on that, that’s where you can register your address and your email,” said Chief Campos.

The tool is not for reporting a crime but rather staying aware of what’s going on in the area.

To report a crime, officials said it’s best to call the police department directly.

“Right now as the students are moving back, those that have been gone over the summer and their apartments and houses have been left abandoned,” said Chief Campos. “We are starting to receive reports of break ins that may have occurred over the summer time, because nobody was there to check on while they were gone. You’ll see a lot of alcohol related crimes reported because of underage drinking and stuff that we deal with in the downtown area.”

Overall, crime mapping is what Chief Campos said is another tool to maintain a vigilant community.

“If we are working on something in that area, we can maybe potentially generate some leads to follow up and maybe solve those crimes,” said Chief Campos. “Having that information flow and getting information back from our businesses and our residents to help us with our job is part of the goal of providing this information to the public.”

Agencies in Greenville and Anderson County also have a crime mapping tool. Officers said there is a feature that only law enforcement can see when searching for potential suspects.

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