The interwebs have been blowing up lately after news broke that Microsoft had patented a mobile application to help drivers and pedestrians avoid areas with high crime rates.
The blogosphere jumped all over it, dubbing it the “Avoid Ghetto app,” and chiming in on all the racial and sociopolitical implications.
You can read a Chicago Sun-Times column about it here.
Crime statistics are a sticky subject, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced earlier this week that homicide no longer makes the list of the nation’s top 15 causes of death.
The Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office investigated at least 11 homicides in 2011, most of which were shootings. We’re still analyzing those reports.
It’s no secret that Snohomish County has spots where some crimes are reported more often than others. You can monitor neighborhood crime stats through websites like www.crimereports.com and www.neighborhoodscout.com. Many cities and police departments keep info on their websites as well, if you’re curious. Everett has some here.
If the crime-rate GPS app ever goes live, it’ll be interesting to see what, if any, parts of our community come up flagged. The results likely would be surprising, and probably not for the reasons people assume.
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