Crime Stats Go Online in Pennsylvania

Electronic Data Systems Corp., Information Builders Inc. and the Pennsylvania State Police announced April 5 the launch of a new Web site designed to aid police and citizens in the war on crime.

EDS, the prime contractor on the project, and Information Builders received a total of $2.5 million for their work on the Uniform Crime Reporting System Web site, said the Pennsylvania State Police.

The Web site (ucr.psp.state.pa.us) provides monthly crime statistics for towns, counties, regions, college campuses and the state. Local law enforcement officials and the public can use this information to identify trends in crime that occur in these areas over time.

Users also can view the annual "Crime in PA" report; run standard, formatted reports; and build their own queries using data found on the Web site.

The Uniform Crime Reporting System Web site is one of several prepackaged reporting and transaction-based Web applications specifically developed for state, regional and local government agencies by Information Builders.

"This breakthrough in law-enforcement reporting now gives police departments and the public the opportunity to use the Web to check crime in their own neighborhoods," said Gerald Cohen, president and chief executive officer of New York-based Information Builders.

"Users now have the option to select [from] among more than 30 offenses, generate Web reports and analyze statistics in a variety of categories, all of which provide a whole new meaning to public safety," he said.

Information Builders has more than 2,000 employees and had sales of more than $300 million in 2000. EDS Corp. of Plano, Texas, has about 122,000 employees and had sales of $19.2 billion in 2000.