The town of Vinton in Roanoke County has become one of roughly 20 jurisdictions nationally to provide an interactive crime-mapping service for its citizens. The town takes computerized crime mapping data, which police use to identify hot spots and trouble areas, and puts it on the World Wide Web. Writes Joe Kendal with the Roanoke Times:

Vinton residents can go online and access CrimeView Community, a Web tool that makes crime mapping a public resource. Users can specify which crimes to search for, set a date range and center in on a specific address or on landmarks throughout the town. The result is an interactive map displaying crime locations, dates and current status.

Neighborhood watch programs use the Web map; landlords use it to monitor crime rates around their properties.

Of all the jurisdictions using the Omega Group software, including San Francisco, Chicago, Memphis and Las Vegas, Vinton, with a population of 8,000, is the smallest.