Want to know whether there were robberies – or worse crimes – in your part of Philadelphia this week?

How about murders across the city over the past day or years?

Mug shots pique your interest? Check the rundown of the most wanted and the most violent.

The Philadelphia Police Department’s expanded Web site makes it easy, and thousands have tapped into www.ppdonline.org.

The Web site has been upgraded to provide information for 27 crime categories, ranging from the worst violent offenses, including murder and rape, to property crimes, including thefts from autos or stolen vehicle-registration stickers.

Some of the information is surprising. For example, in the last 30 days, 18 robberies have occurred near City Hall, considered a relatively safe area. Near the 35th District headquarters at Broad Street and Champlost Avenue in North Philadelphia, considered a high-crime area, 10 robberies were reported during the same period.

The Web site also includes a rundown of the city’s most wanted or most violent suspects. That led to the arrest of a sex offender who police learned – through a tipster – was working in a city school.

Although it’s too early to measure the full impact of the site, which has translations available in seven languages, officials said they do know that the thousands who are looking at it are averaging nearly four minutes per page at a time.Full Article and Source