Des Moines Sun

DES MOINES, IOWA — The City of Des Moines Police Department presented its new digital mapping tool to the Des Moines City Council Monday morning.

In partnership with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and other local law enforcement agencies, the City of Des Moines developed the Law Enforcement Response Map (LERM) to provide residents and neighborhoods a credible, timely source for police data.

"This resource will provide transparency and accuracy to Des Moines, and provide a platform that can be used to get a full picture of law enforcement actions in Des Moines," Des Moines City Manager Scott Sanders said. "Residents will now have a modern, efficient way to view law enforcement data down to their block."

The new mapping tool replaces Des Moines’ CrimeView system which was taken offline in 2022 when its support platform was discontinued.

LERM provides significant upgrades to crime tracking and adds several new features for online users. The new system allows users to filter based on date, neighborhood, custom locations, responding agency and incident type and also allows users to create an account to save searches and set custom search notifications.

“The Law Enforcement Response Map is a key part of our commitment to neighborhood-based service delivery,” Des Moines Police Chief Dana Wingert said. “This tool allows residents to initiate informed conversations with their neighborhood officers and keep their finger on the pulse of the issues that affect their neighborhood.”

Results are also automatically synced and updated every 15 minutes with data from the Des Moines Police and Polk County Sheriff’s records management system providing accurate and nearly instantaneous results.

“Part of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office mission is to increase community safety through technology, and I believe partnering with the Des Moines Police Department in the development of this program does just that,” Polk County Sheriff Kevin Schneider said.

Des Moines, Polk County Sheriff's office and other local law enforcement agencies whose data will also be sent to the platform will all be launching the platform this week.

Full list of participating agencies:

• Des Moines Police Department
• Altoona Police Department
• Ankeny Police Department
• Johnston Police Department
• Pleasant Hill Police Department
• Polk County Sheriff’s Office
• Communities served by Polk County Sheriff including
  • Alleman
  • Bondurant
  • Elkhart
  • Grimes
  • Mitchellville
  • Polk City
  • Runnells

The tool and instructional videos will be available to use at DSM.city/LERM on Thursday, June 15.

Original source can be found here.