Building a 'High Risk Crime Map' of South Africa
  • rmacle January 2011

    Hi.

    I want to provide to tourists (for free) access to a map that shows the high risk crime zones in South Africa. Does anyone know where I may be able to find some hard stats on crimes committed by specific area.

    I can only find a) SAPS stats which show crime by post code (not a lot of use when trying to build a map) or b) Excellent websites like this one but that don't have the sheer volume of stats to create an accurate picture (yet!).

    Does anyone have any ideas? My alternative is to build something that's based simply on my own knowledge of where I would and wouldn't recommend a visitor to go. But this is largely anecdotal and I only know some parts of the country. Would other forum members be willing to collaborate on a Google SA map if I create it and invite individual members?

    Thanks!

    Rob

  • derrickderrick January 2011

    Hi Rob thanks for the feedback. Sounds like a great idea. The API will be extended and have more functions in the future that will allow developers to pull the information they need to build the type of maps you looking for.

  • AdrianaStuijtAdrianaStuijt January 2011

    Are you familiar with the website http://www.farmitracker.com That was set up two months before the start of the World Cup 2010 to report violent crimes because the SAPS has announced a publicity-moratorium during the pre-publicity run up and during the WC2010 and this website reported all those violent crimes which never made it to the mainstream news media or SABC-TV. There are many reports on it including maps, graphs, pictures of victims and original URL links to the sources etc. Perhaps your organisation and farmitracker.com should combine forces. Seems to me both groups are attempting to reinvent the wheel and working alongside each other, when forces could be combined to create an impressive 'crime map' of South Africa, as suggested. A 'crime-free map' according to the results on Farmitracker.com, appears to be impossible - as one can also see on the SAPS documents files, which also have maps http://www.saps.gov.za and which could be used as a base-document for such a 'crime-free-map' - there are VERY FEW crime-free maps. There is one blank dot in the Northern Cape, where no crimes have ever been reported from, of any kind. Hope that bit of information helps?

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