photo by flickr user: spiggycat

If you like keeping an eye on local criminal activity, then look no further than SpotCrime’s Washington, DC Crime Map.  This handy little tracker allows you to search by crime type (Arrest, Arson, Shooting, Burglary, etc.,) by date/time, by location, and enroll for crime alerts.  It also allows you to report crimes, but usually takes about 24-48 hours for them to register, so if you search for today’s crime information, it will be limited.

Another SpotCrime feature is UCrime, which allows college students to track on-campus or near campus crime.  If you sign up for UCrime, you can receive alerts as well, which is not a bad idea given the recent rash of college/school violence.

SpotCrime offers tracking throughout the U.S. and a little over 30 international cities.