Daviess County Sheriff Brad Youngman said that his office has added an interactive map feature to their website in an effort to improve transparency and provide the public a new way to stay aware of law enforcement activities following the recent decision to encrypt their radio channels
This map, found at the bottom of the DCSO website dcsoky.gov, allows users to access basic data such as types of calls and locations of activities in Daviess County.
“The move to encrypt our radio system was needed to better protect sensitive information that is often transmitted over the air such as names, birthdays, and Social Security numbers, as well as to protect crime victims and responding law enforcement officials,” Youngman said. “However, I was not comfortable with completely removing the public’s ability to know what is going on. By adding this map to our webpage, the public can still see what is happening and can actually see more information than a scanner allows.
The map is not updated in real time and does not include the audio recording of the calls. Users can select “filters” in the bottom left corner of the map and then choose the type of incidents they want to see. After choosing a type of incident(s) or clicking “Select All,” users can then click the “Map” button in the bottom middle of the map.
Circles will then appear that show where agencies responded. Clicking on a call brings up basic information about the type of call, time, and location.
The map’s features are updated twice a day, with the data imported from central dispatch records, Youngman said.
“While the information isn’t available immediately, it does allow users to go back and look at historical information by changing the parameters in the search tools,” he said. “All calls made by area law enforcement are on the map except for sexual assaults, suicides, some juvenile incidents such as runaways, and other sensitive situations where information is protected by law.”
Youngman hopes this map gives the public a better understanding of the types of calls that deputies and officers respond to each day as well as the level of activity that public safety dispatchers face during their shifts.
“We have a safe community, but all our public safety agencies stay very busy,” he said. “And while different calls for service may be responded to by different agencies, dispatchers are involved in every single one every single time.”
