Friday Question of the Day – Police Alerts – useful or just stressful?

Photo of ‘last night’s battle’ by PoPville flickr user JosephLeonardo

“Dear PoPville,

I recently signed up for the DC alert text messages and e-mails. I now get several e-mails and texts a day about robberies and other crimes. It is quite surprising. I however caveat this with the fact that I have lived here for 2 years and have never really been near or seen anything bad go down (knock on wood). Will these constant notifications just get me scared/worried all the time or are they actually useful? Do you get them?”

It’s a very good question and one that I often wrestle with when deciding about what crime stories to post or not post here. I’d say I regularly get over a dozen emails a week (sadly, sometimes many many more) from readers talking about crimes (and this is not including the daily alerts sent by MPD.) Often times when I’m on a walkabout I recall a horrible crime on the street I’m passing by. These are obviously not pleasant thoughts. When people introduce themselves to me and tell me where they live, my brain automatically catalogs what crimes have happened nearby. I don’t think this is necessarily a healthy thing. I can’t help it.

For me personally, I think it’s very important that I know what’s going on because of the blog. But if I weren’t running this blog – I honestly don’t think I’d want to know about every single crime that takes place. However, having said that, I still think it is useful to know that some crimes are happening and where they are happening just to remind you to be alert. And some people like to know what is the cause of every single siren they hear – and this is a good way to do that.

So for the Friday Question of the Day: What do you guys think – do you think it is useful or stressful to sign up for MPD police alerts? If you are interested you can sign up for the MPD listserves here.

After the jump you can see an example email from Thurs. sent out daily by all MPD Districts

This report contains Part I serious offenses reported in the Third District, broken down by PSA, in a 24-hour period. If you experience any computer problems with viewing this data, please reply to this message and explain the problem. See key at the bottom of the page.

PSA: 301
CCN: 11069196
RPT DATE: 05/18/2011
SHIFT:
OFFENSE: Theft
METHOD:
BLOCK: 1700 B/O LAMONT ST NW
LOCATION: Residence/Home
START DT: 05/15/2011
START TM: 12:00:00
END DT: 05/17/2011
END TM: 17:00:00
——————————————-
PSA: 302
CCN: 11068971
RPT DATE: 05/18/2011
SHIFT:
OFFENSE: Theft F/Auto
METHOD:
BLOCK: 1500 B/O SPRING PL NW
LOCATION: Street/Highway/Road
START DT: 05/18/2011
START TM: 00:30:00
END DT: 05/18/2011
END TM: 04:00:00
——————————————-
PSA: 302
CCN: 11068813
RPT DATE: 05/18/2011
SHIFT:
OFFENSE: Robbery
METHOD:
BLOCK: 1300 B/O IRVING ST NW
LOCATION: Sidewalk
START DT: 05/18/2011
START TM: 02:25:00
END DT:
END TM:
——————————————-
PSA: 302
CCN: 11068883
RPT DATE: 05/18/2011
SHIFT:
OFFENSE: Theft F/Auto
METHOD:
BLOCK: 1500 B/O MONROE ST NW
LOCATION: Street/Highway/Road
START DT: 05/17/2011
START TM: 19:00:00
END DT: 05/18/2011
END TM: 10:00:00
——————————————-
PSA: 302
CCN: 11069038
RPT DATE: 05/18/2011
SHIFT:
OFFENSE: Stolen Auto
METHOD:
BLOCK: GEORGIA AVE NW & PARK RD NW
LOCATION: Alley
START DT: 05/17/2011
START TM: 02:00:00
END DT: 05/17/2011
END TM: 02:00:00
——————————————-
PSA: 302
CCN: 11068751
RPT DATE: 05/18/2011
SHIFT:
OFFENSE: Robbery
METHOD:
BLOCK: 13TH ST NW & PARK RD NW
LOCATION: Sidewalk
START DT: 05/17/2011
START TM: 22:58:00
END DT:
END TM:
——————————————-
PSA: 302
CCN: 11068908
RPT DATE: 05/18/2011
SHIFT:
OFFENSE: Theft F/Auto
METHOD:
BLOCK: 1300 B/O KENYON ST NW
LOCATION: Alley
START DT: 05/18/2011
START TM: 10:50:00
END DT: 05/18/2011
END TM: 11:00:00
——————————————-
PSA: 303
CCN: 11069230
RPT DATE: 05/18/2011
SHIFT:
OFFENSE: Burglary
METHOD:
BLOCK: 1800 B/O VERNON ST NW
LOCATION: Residence/Home
START DT: 05/18/2011
START TM: 08:45:00
END DT: 05/18/2011
END TM: 20:30:00
——————————————-
PSA: 303
CCN: 11068859
RPT DATE: 05/18/2011
SHIFT:
OFFENSE: Theft
METHOD:
BLOCK: 2400 B/O 16TH ST NW
LOCATION: Residence/Home
START DT: 05/17/2011
START TM: 13:00:00
END DT:
END TM:
——————————————-
PSA: 303
CCN: 11069143
RPT DATE: 05/18/2011
SHIFT:
OFFENSE: Burglary
METHOD:
BLOCK: 1800 B/O VERNON ST NW
LOCATION: Residence/Home
START DT: 05/18/2011
START TM: 09:00:00
END DT: 05/18/2011
END TM: 17:55:00
——————————————-
PSA: 304
CCN: 11069256
RPT DATE: 05/18/2011
SHIFT:
OFFENSE: Robbery
METHOD:
BLOCK: 1200 B/O GIRARD ST NW
LOCATION: Sidewalk
START DT: 05/18/2011
START TM: 21:15:00
END DT: 05/18/2011
END TM: 21:25:00
——————————————-
PSA: 304
CCN: 11068897
RPT DATE: 05/18/2011
SHIFT:
OFFENSE: Theft F/Auto
METHOD:
BLOCK: 2700 B/O 13TH ST NW
LOCATION: Street/Highway/Road
START DT: 05/18/2011
START TM: 10:00:00
END DT: 05/18/2011
END TM: 10:30:00
——————————————-
PSA: 304
CCN: 11069001
RPT DATE: 05/18/2011
SHIFT:
OFFENSE: Robbery
METHOD:
BLOCK: 700 B/O GRESHAM PL NW
LOCATION: Residence/Home
START DT: 05/18/2011
START TM: 14:20:00
END DT: 05/18/2011
END TM:
——————————————-
PSA: 304
CCN: 11069039
RPT DATE: 05/18/2011
SHIFT:
OFFENSE: Theft
METHOD:
BLOCK: 2800 B/O SHERMAN AVE NW
LOCATION: Alley
START DT: 05/08/2011
START TM: 21:30:00
END DT: 05/18/2011
END TM: 13:00:00
——————————————-
PSA: 307
CCN: 11069281
RPT DATE: 05/18/2011
SHIFT:
OFFENSE: Theft
METHOD:
BLOCK: 1400 B/O RHODE ISLAND AVE NW
LOCATION: Convenience Store
START DT: 05/18/2011
START TM: 23:00:00
END DT:
END TM:
——————————————-
PSA: 307
CCN: 11068838
RPT DATE: 05/18/2011
SHIFT:
OFFENSE: ADW
METHOD:
BLOCK: 1400 B/O 12TH ST NW
LOCATION: Residence/Home
START DT: 05/18/2011
START TM: 06:48:00
END DT: 05/18/2011
END TM: 07:00:00
——————————————-
PSA: 308
CCN: 11068983
RPT DATE: 05/18/2011
SHIFT:
OFFENSE: Robbery
METHOD:
BLOCK: 9TH ST NW & P ST NW
LOCATION: Alley
START DT: 05/18/2011
START TM: 12:23:00
END DT:
END TM:
——————————————-
PSA: 308
CCN: 11069006
RPT DATE: 05/18/2011
SHIFT:
OFFENSE: Theft F/Auto
METHOD:
BLOCK: 400 B/O FLORIDA AVE NW
LOCATION: Parking Lot/Parking Garage
START DT: 05/18/2011
START TM: 15:00:00
END DT: 05/18/2011
END TM: 15:20:00
——————————————-
KEY:
PSA – The Police District (first number=District) and area or police beat where the incident occurred.
CCN – The Complaint Number for the incident.
RPT DATE – Date the incident was reported to Police.
SHIFT – Estimated tour of duty crime occurred. DAY=Day EVN=Evening MID=Midnight
OFFENSE – Crime Classification.
METHOD – Subcategory of the Crime or the Degree (i.e. Burglary 2 = 2nd Degree Burglary, meaning Burglar not in contact with the victim.)
BLOCK – Block where the crime occurred.
LOCATION – General description of location where crime occurred.
START DT – Earliest date the incident could have occurred.
START TM – Earliest time the incident could have occurred.
END DT – Latest date the incident could have occurred.
END TM – Latest time the incident could have occurred.
ADW – Assault With A Deadly Weapon
F&V – Force and Violence
PBS – Pocketbook Snatch
P/P – Pickpocket