February 2006

CAMConnect Partners with Police to Make Crime Data Available

CAMConnect has partnered with the Camden Police Department to publish monthly maps of crime in Camden City.  The maps, produced by the Police Department’s Crime Mapping Unit, show the locations of major crimes in the City of Camden, including homicides, aggravated assaults, robberies, auto thefts, and other crimes, beginning with January 2006 data.

In addition to citywide maps of crime, data for each of the City’s four police districts are also available at http://www.camconnect.org/resources/CrimeMaps.html.  The crime map website will be expanded over the next few months as more data become available.  Other potential data could include year-to-year and month-to-month comparisons of crime trends, neighborhood-level analysis, and other data from the criminal justice system.

“We are pleased that the Police Department has made these maps available,” said Derek Ziegler, Executive Director of CAMConnect.  “Public safety is an important issue in Camden, and we believe that providing accurate data will allow for more informed and productive discussion that will ultimately decrease crime in the city.”

“The Camden Police Department believes that public safety is everyone’s business and responsibility,” said Captain Joseph F. Richardson.  “It is a pleasure to disperse statistical and crime mapping information to the entire community.  This program will benefit the City of Camden’s crime reduction initiatives and partnership process.”

Updated Neighborhood Information Now Online

The "Camden Facts" neighborhood profile pages have been updated on CAMConnect's website.  To access this information, go to http://www.camconnect.org/fact/map_main.html  For each of Camden's 21 Census tracts, you can find new links to redevelopment plans (where available) and to the latest NJ Department of Education school report cards for each school in a particular neighborhood.  Access to all of the NJ Department of Education report cards can be found at http://education.state.nj.us/rc/rc05/menu/07-0680.html

Welcome New Members

CAMConnect welcomes new members for 2006:  Heart of Camden Housing Corp., Volunteers of America - Delaware Valley, Lauren Hill, Virtua Health, and Southern New Jersey Perinatal Cooperative.  Special thanks to all of our members who make CAMConnect's work possible, and to all members who completed the recent member survey.  We received 24 responses out of 31 possible, which is a great response rate..  A complete list of members can be found at http://www.camconnect.org/about/members.html