Local law enforcement works with online service to provide crime updates.

• Position: News & Numbers - Brief article

About 40 law enforcement districts, including Washington, D.C., and San Jose, California, are participating in a Web-based service that allows citizens to sign up for free e-mail alerts about crime in their neighborhoods. The service, available at www.CrimeReports.com, overlays arrest reports on maps, allowing people to see exactly what types of crimes are occurring and where. Local law enforcement agencies are expected to be able to use the service to identify trends and trouble spots by sharing data across districts. The state of Utah is the largest geographic area to use the service so far, with 41 districts involved.

The CrimeReports.com service contains no advertising. Agencies can sign up to share their data with the service at no cost for the first year. After that, participation costs $99 to $199 a month, based on the size of the population...