Comments on: Wilmington’s most wanted maps

By: Ian

Ian — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 18:58:32 +0000

I think we need color-coding like Grant mentioned (http://www.napavalleyregister.com/maps/blotter/). Almost all the ones I can find in a casual check on our own WMW are “Failure to appear”

By: Ranald

Ranald — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 18:43:25 +0000

Did anyone look at Wilmington’s most wanted? Several are genuine outlaws like sex offenders that failed to register, coke dealers, multiple burglars, etc. But one sad sap is wanted for, get this: “breaking and entering a coin operated machine.”

By: Reina

Reina — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 00:29:09 +0000

The Napa CA Register also posts a “Napa’s Most Wanted” database, updated weekly. While it doesn’t exactly resemble the Wilmington Star-News map, instead, after clicking on the link, the current listing comes up complete with photo, name, date of birth, physical description, wanted for, bail & last known address. The website also touts that “30 persons on our list have been taken in by law enforcement or turned themselves in since September,2007.” Is this practice the norm for small communities with local dailies? In this case I guess the east and west coasts have something very much in common.

By: Bella Parola

Bella Parola — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 00:16:38 +0000

RACHEL wrote:
I guess that shouldn’t be so shocking to me as the South is known for its vigilance committees, ‘…such groups organized to terrorize and control Negroes and Abolitionists and, during the Civil War, to suppress support of the union’. (Webster’s)

And California (of about that vintage) is known for its Fortyniners, but the last time I was in the neighborhood, I didn’t see a single soul with a pickax slung over his shoulder or a bag of gold dust on his belt.
Normally, I would allow the regional chauvinism (MWonline: undue partiality or attachment to a group or place to which one belongs or has belonged) on a blog I’ve never visited before to go unchallenged, but this claims to be for and/or about the place I currently call home, and a comment like that from someone who presumably isn’t here and quite possibly has never been anywhere near here, just gets my hackles up.

By: ian

ian — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 22:48:01 +0000

My response in those forums:

I think arlettejoe’s posts are an awesome illustration of what is wrong with this — and why saying the Star News is “simply making the information accessible to the public” seems a little disingenuous.

Organizing and presenting information of this kind (no small feat) entails certain responsibilities, doesn’t it? This can get close to the proverbial “Fire!” in a crowded movie house where it incites, or seems to.

By: editor

editor — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 22:38:07 +0000

From wanted site creator and Star News metro editor Vaughn Hagerty:

I’m Vaughn Hagerty, metro editor of the Star-News and the geek who put together the programming that makes the Who’s Wanted in Wilmington tools work.

I wanted to respond to macandsoup’s post. First, the addresses shown are, in fact, the last known addresses of people who are wanted by the Wilmington Police Department. In some cases, as macandsoup points out, they may not be the current addresses.

This information comes from directly from the Wilmington Police Department, through its P2C Web site, which also is freely available to anyone on the Web. That information, in turn, comes directly from the police department’s files. We update our database every morning.

So, we make every effort to ensure that our information is the most complete and accurate available from the best possible source: the WPD. In addition, we’ve encouraged users to contact police if they have specific information about the people listed in the database.

I’ve also included a link with my e-mail address so that anyone may contact me with problems or concerns — or with suggestions on how it can be made to work better. In case you missed it, it’s vaughn.hagerty@starnewsonline.com.

Vaughn Hagerty
Metro Editor, Star-News

Forum:
http://forums.starnewsonline.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/6431032365/m/4021096576

By: ian

ian — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 21:25:05 +0000

In a way it’s analogous to the wildly successful Crime-stoppers! television program (?), the one where they show mugshots and you call in if you’ve seen them?

Once the technological genie is out of the bottle (in this case: excellent, freely exploitable web-based maps, GIS data, and public databases — all of which can be “mashed-up” by any 13 year old these days), it’s not a question of “if” really, is it?

By: Ranald

Ranald — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 21:03:36 +0000

That’s what this country needs — more fear and paranoia. “Cops” and the “Twilight Zone” meet the struggling newspaper industry. Caroling is for wimps. Fire up the torches and let’s go on a witch hunt!

But seriously, is anyone else concerned about the unintended consequences of such a program?

By: rachel

rachel — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 20:24:08 +0000

That is creepy, useless(what good is an old address?) and a little invasive, I think. Of course I still get creeped out when I see the home address of some poor lawbreaking sod listed in the newspaper. Its like an invitation to all vigilantes–don’t like the way the police handled it? Here’s the address go take care of it yourself.

I guess that shouldn’t be so shocking to me as the South is known for its vigilance committees, ‘…such groups organized to terrorize and control Negroes and Abolitionists and, during the Civil War, to suppress support of the union’. (Webster’s)

So nothing new I guess.

By: Grant Totten

Grant Totten — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 19:46:11 +0000

Ian, akin to Wilmington’s Most Wanted Maps, similarly here in Napa, CA our local newspaper, The Napa Valley Register (www.napavalleyregister.com)every few days posts a Crime Map. The icons are the same except color coded for property crimes, stolen vehicles & theft from vehicles. Take a look, significant portions of the city are lit up with colored balloons! Is this helpful? Who knows, but not at apparently stopping crimes.