While I was trying to do research on the piece that I posted earlier about the explosions in the Inner Sunset I dug into the SFPD website to see if I could find a general contact number. While that search prooved fruitless I ran across an interactive crime map. Jackpot I thought! This is just what I need to find out exactly where and when things go on in my neighborhood. Man was I wrong… First off there is a giant EULA that you have to go through to even get to the map which produced this juicy tidbit:

To use this service reliably, you will need the following. If you don’t have this setup where you are, you can go to most public libraries, where high-speed internet access on mostly Windows PC’s is available free of charge.

1. A computer running Microsoft Windows, and the Internet Explorer browser, Version 5.5 or higher.
2. Because the maps created by this site contain lots of detail, you will also need a high-speed connection to the internet, such as DSL or a cable modem.

So I figured that was written a few years ago so any Firefox based browser should do the job. More on that later…

Once you click through the terms and conditions you are then faced with “The Wizard”! He will ask you questions along your journey that you must get correct or you shall not be allowed to pass. Once answered, the map pretty much just sits there with a loading screen forever and eever… Yes I’m doing this on a Mac with Camino but if I try in Safari I get an incompatible warning and can go screw myself. This is San Francisco guys. Get it together. So in a nutshell that’s my experience with the SFPD’s crime mapping technology from the cradle of the dot.com revolution.

Then I get an IM from Sean in LA out of the blue with a link to the LAPD Crimemaps that they just launched. How’s that for some weird ass timing?

So I load it up and it’s amazing! First off it actually WORKS and works well. No wizards or EULA’s to jump through. Works out of the gate on my Mac and it has the feel of Google Maps with how you can scroll around thhe city by just clicking and dragging. I can’t compare the SFPD really since it never even loaded.

So in the battle of community service websites from the local guys in blue we just got served by LAPD. Hey SFPD, hire some down and out dot.com’ers and get us back in the game because so far what we have is just sad.

Related posts:

1. Hey SFPD! Listen up!
2. SFPD: We’re Hiring, Shuffling & Ignoring You… Please Send Money.
3. SFPD Foot Patrol Pilot, is it working?
4. SFPD Sergeant Busted for Cruising DMV Files
5. SF cops make the big bucks