Crime Viewer - Pinellas County Government Home Page

User Manual

Pinellas County Crime Viewer

Version 2.0

User Manual Page 2 of 21 Pinellas County Crime Viewer, Version 2.0

Table of Contents

1. INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE ...................................................................................................... 3

1.1. PINELLAS COUNTY CRIME VIEWER .................................................................................................. 3

2. SYSTEM OVERVIEW .......................................................................................................................... 4

2.1. WEB PAGE LAYOUT ........................................................................................................................ 4 2.2. CRIME VIEWER DISCLAIMER PAGE .................................................................................................. 5 2.3. PAGE OVERVIEW............................................................................................................................ 6 2.4. MAP OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................................. 7 2.5. SEARCH BY ADDRESS, CITY, OR ZIP CODE ...................................................................................... 8 2.6. SEARCH BY DATE RANGE ............................................................................................................... 9 2.7. SEARCH BY CRIME TYPE .............................................................................................................. 10 2.8. SEARCH BY CRIME AGENCY .......................................................................................................... 11 2.9. DEFAULT REPORT ........................................................................................................................ 12 2.10. CRIME REPORT ............................................................................................................................ 13 2.11. EXPORT DATA UTILITY ................................................................................................................. 14 2.12. PAGE FOOTER ............................................................................................................................. 15 2.13. MAP MARKER - SYMBOLOGY......................................................................................................... 16 2.14. MAP MARKER - ADDRESS LOCATION ............................................................................................. 17 2.15. MAP MARKER - CRIME DATA ......................................................................................................... 18 2.16. MAP MARKER - SEX OFFENDER DATA ........................................................................................... 19 2.17. MAP MARKER - RADIUS ................................................................................................................ 20 2.18. PRINTER FRIENDLY ...................................................................................................................... 21


1. Introduction and Purpose

1.1. Pinellas County Crime Viewer

The purpose of the Pinellas County Crime Viewer is to provide Citizens the ability to view Sexual Offenders and Crimes that have occurred within Pinellas County in the last year. The default date range for crimes is 30 days.

Crime Viewer is available on the Pinellas County Website for quick and easy access to crime related data within Pinellas County.

No plug-ins or special software is required or necessary to use the Crime Viewer website.

Crime Viewer is browser independent and will run using any standard internet browser such as Internet Explorer (6.x or higher) or Firefox (3.x or higher).

The minimum internet connection is 56k modem, however, a high speed internet connection is recommended.

The user must agree to accept the conditions of the disclaimer before crime data is displayed on the map.

Crime Viewer provides the ability to search by address, municipality, zip code, radius distance, crime types, and crime agencies and by date range.

The application uses Google Maps to provide the map and navigation features such as Pan and Zoom.

A report panel is available to show detail information for the crimes displayed on the map. The report panel can be sorted by date or by distance. The default is date.

Visual map markers are used to identify crimes and sexual offenders. Clicking on a map marker displays a small window with detail information about the crime.

Website is: www.pinellascounty.org/crimeviewer

http://www.pinellascounty.org/crimeviewer


2. System Overview

2.1. Web Page Layout

The Crime Viewer web page is divided into 5 areas.

1- Banner bar is used to identify the application.

2- Search bar allows the ability to enter search and filter criteria.

3- Reports panel displays detail information pertaining to the crimes shown on the map.

4- Map displays a geographical map with markers to represent results from the search and filter criteria.

5- Footer displays the application version number and any additional hyperlinks, such as, Disclaimer, Data Key for crime types, Contact information, etc.


2.2. Crime Viewer Disclaimer Page

The disclaimer page is the first page displayed on the Crime Viewer website. At the bottom of the page the user must make a selection to either Agree or Disagree and click the [Enter] button. If the user agrees to the conditions of disclaimer then the application displays the map, otherwise, if the user disagree they are returned to the Crime Viewer homepage on the Pinellas County website at www.pinellascounty.org.


2.3. Page Overview

Below is an example of the page layout with the 5 keys areas: Banner bar, Search bar, Reports, Map, and Footer.


2.4. Map Overview

Below illustrates key features of the Map.

1- Zoom Scale located on the left hand side of the map allows the ability to zoom in and out of the map. The mouse scroll wheel can also be used to for zooming purposes.

2- The View Sexual Offenders Checkbox displays the location of sex offenders on the map. This checkbox option is only available after a successful search has been performed.

3- Crime Viewer uses standard Google Maps buttons for map display.

4- Ability to pan the map to a new location by clicking the mouse and dragging.


2.5. Search by Address, City, or Zip Code

Crime Viewer allows the ability to narrow the search by entering in an address, a city or a zip code. A successful search must be performed before crime data is displayed on the map.


2.6. Search by Date Range

Crime Viewer allows the ability to search for crimes by date range. The maximum date range is the previous 12 months. If a date range is not selected, 30 days is the default.


2.7. Search by Crime Type

Crime Viewer provides the ability to narrow the search to specific types of crimes by selecting one or more main categories of crime - Burglary, Theft, Vandalism or any of the sub-categories of crimes. The default is all crime types selected after a successful search has been preformed.


2.8. Search by Crime Agency

Crime Viewer provides the ability to narrow the search to specific crime reporting agencies. The default is all crime agencies selected after a successful search has been preformed.


2.9. Default Report

Below is the default report page that is displayed when first entering the Crime Viewer website and when no data is returned from the search criteria entered. The default report page also provides a link to contact us for additional assistance is needed. Email address: [email protected]


2.10. Crime Report

The Report panel is used to display detail information pertaining to the crimes indicated on the map. Information includes the Agency, Report Number, Reported Date, and Crime Type. The Report panel also allows data to be sorted by date or distance. The default is


2.11. Export Data Utility

The Export Data Utility allows the report information to be downloaded into either Microsoft Excel

( ) or a comma separated file ( ).


2.12. Page Footer

The footer bar at the bottom of the page is used to provide links for other information such as the displaying the Legend for map icons on the map, Contact us through email, or the Home link to return to the main page of the Pinellas County website. It also has a link for easy access to this manual and a Quick Guide for an overview of the Crime Viewer application.


2.13. Map Marker - Symbology

Below are the map icons used in Crime Viewer to indicate sexual offenders and crimes on the map.


2.14. Map Marker - Address Location

After a successful address search, the map is repositioned to the new location and a map marker is

displayed as a red star ( ). In addition to the map marker, a small window is also displayed allowing the ability to select the distance in which crimes are to be displayed. The options are .5 miles, 1 mile, 2 miles or 3 miles. The default is set to .5 miles.


2.15. Map Marker - Crime Data

Crime Viewer provides the ability to display detail information related to crimes as indicated on the map. Clicking on the map marker displays one or more crimes for that location based on the search criteria entered in the Search bar.


2.16. Map Marker - Sex Offender Data

Crime Viewer provides the ability to display detail information related to sexual offenders as indicated on the map. Clicking on the map marker displays one or more offenders located at that location. To display offender information on the map, the Sex Offender checkbox must be checked.


2.17. Map Marker - Radius

Crime Viewer has the ability to search for crimes based on radius (distance). The radius is displayed on the map as concentric circles from the center of the address that was entered as search criteria.

The address is indicated by a red star ( ). Radius options are .5 miles, 1 mile, 2 miles or 3 miles. The default is set to .5 miles.


2.18. Printer Friendly

The printer Icon ( ) provides the ability to print a paper copy of the map and crime information using standard 8 ½ by 11 sheets of paper.

Documents

Crime Viewer - Pinellas County Government Home Page