Crime alerts posted online

Pitt students can now check campus crime reports online rather than relying on fliers posted… Pitt students can now check campus crime reports online rather than relying on fliers posted around campus to alert them about criminal activity.

Pitt police began posting crime reports online about a year and a half ago “in an attempt to get the message out,” Pitt police Chief Tim Delaney explained.

“We want our Web site to be full service,” Delaney said.

Crime reports contain descriptions of crimes and suspects, crime tips and phone numbers to call for anyone having additional information about the incident.

“It’s an effort on my part to communicate,” Delaney said.

“In meetings we had with students, we heard that students weren’t seeing the postings,” he said. Delaney explained that in the past, Pitt police posted fliers around campus warning students about crimes. Legally, campus police must post crime alerts to alert students about crimes that have taken place.

“We decided to get the message out through [the students’] means, instead of just walking around trying to put paper up,” Delaney explained.

“We got thousands of hits a week when we started, and not necessarily all students,” Delaney added. “Pitt graduates as well as other police departments have sent messages from across the country, saying, ‘I love your Web site.'”

“The law says crime reports must be posted ‘within a reasonable time,'” Delaney said.

“We usually have it up within hours once a report is complete. Checking facts may sometimes result in delays. We don’t want to put misinformation out there,” he said.