EBS STAFF
The Bozeman community now has access to information regarding local crime through a virtual dashboard launched by the Bozeman Police Department.
The interactive dashboard shows recent crimes, calls for service and traffic incidents, helping improve the ways BPD tracks crime, while making the information more readable to the public, according to an Oct. 8 press release.
“This dashboard is part of a larger effort we have been undertaking as a department to increase transparency and build trust through data and storytelling,” Bozeman Police Chief Jim Veltkamp stated in the release. “This dashboard really expands what a resident can do and how they can explore stats. They can filter by time or type of crime and get a better understanding of what crime looks like in their neighborhood or the city as a whole.”
Two new features are the crime dashboard, tracking offenses, or illegal actions that can result in a case or citation, and the traffic dashboard, created in response to a common topic officers hear from community members.
The calls for service dashboard already existed, but was rebranded to improve readability. “We collect a lot of great information in our databases as a city, and now that information is at your fingertips,” Veltkamp stated. “Major metropolitan areas have similar dashboards like this, and we’re the first city in Montana to offer a dashboard this comprehensive. We’re proud to offer this tool to our residents.”
