Trulia Crime Maps Dish Neighborhood Dirt

Trulia, the company behind the maps that visualize apartment listings and residential rent: buy index, has tackled the task of visualizing another key issue for people looking to relocate: crime. Trulia has launched Crime Maps, a service that pulls statistics from local police departments around the country to create a heat map that shows which neighborhoods have the highest crime rates.

The maps, which currently include cities from San Diego, CA to Kalamazoo, MI and dozens in between, show street intersections or specific neighborhoods where crimes took place. Searchers can evaluate the crime statistics based on what type of crime occurred or which days are the most crime heavy. Locations are clickable, giving Facebook users a chance to chime in with comments about certain locations or neighborhoods. Crime trend analysis can be as accurate as up-to-the minute, but some refer to the last week, or at least data from the last month.

So, before you sign a lease or contract on your next place, checking Crime Maps could help you make sure your dream home isn’t right in the middle of a burgeoning criminal hot spot.

(via Lifehacker)