By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LULING – The St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday continued its efforts to stay ahead of crime trends in the parish while also staying on the cusp of new technology with the unveiling of an electronic crime mapping system built into the agency’s website.

Sheriff Greg Champagne said the system allows residents to track crime in their own neighborhoods, as well as any other in the parish, via the Internet. The system, known as Crimemapping.com, uses up-to-date — but not real time — crime information compiled from arrest and incident reports. He said the system is the most recent technological advance available to law enforcement agencies, but it is only in use by a handful of agencies across the country.

“A well-informed public has always been an essential element in the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office fight against crime,” Champagne said. “This will be an excellent communication channel between the Sheriff’s Office and St. Charles Parish residents.”

Champagne explained crime data will be extracted from the Sheriff’s Office’s records management system on a daily basis, and current crime data will be posted to a web browser once the incidents are verified. The system uses an advanced geographic engine to plot out the crime activity where it happens. The system uses assorted icons to differentiate the types of crimes committed, including home invasions, car burglaries or theft, armed robbery, drug and alcohol violations and others.

“This is not a tool that will give information out immediately,” he said. “But it’s going to allow the residents additional knowledge and additional awareness, which is the key to helping us protect them and prevent crime.”

Champagne said his office is already at the forefront of new technology and added that parish residents are already well informed when it comes to criminal activity and crime trends. His office offers email and text message alerts notifying residents of emergency road closures, serious accidents, dangerous weather conditions and even some crimes, such as a home invasion in Destrehan last year. The Sheriff’s Office also posts all arrest and incident reports to its website daily.

“We have been able to make arrests based on email and text alerts,” Champagne said. “Crime mapping will serve as a supplement that will allow residents to see if there are things in their neighborhood that they may need to be concerned about.”

Residents may search the system by address, by neighborhood or even by the type of crime committed. They can also register for alerts with the system when a certain crime is committed in a certain neighborhood.

Champagne said his office had spent some time looking for a system such as this but had to go through a few potential vendors to find the right one. He said the New Orleans Police Department is the only other state law enforcement agency to use the system.

The service costs the Sheriff’s Office $100 per year, but it is free to residents. There is also a companion iPhone app that allows the same tracking capabilities.

To register for crime mapping and learn more about the system, residents can visit stcharlessheriff.org and click on the “Crime Mapping” link.