Edmond Based Website – Crimeseen – Set to Go Global and Change The Way We View Crimes

New Edmond based website - Crimeseen - is set to go global and possibly change the way we deal with crimes in our own neighborhoods! But why is it so useful?

The nifty website, owned by Paul Conrady, resident of Edmond, allows users to post videos of crimes taking place, asking community members to help identify the perpetrator and/or potential suspects.

Crimeseen debuted in 2010 as a virtual “Wanted” poster. When a crime is committed, people can post a video and Crimeseen will automatically e-mail a link to users within a specified radius of the crime’s location. For example, the website alerted one man that thieves were cutting copper from air conditioning units in his neighborhood. When the man later heard a hissing noise coming from a parked car, he recognized it as the sound of coolant coming from an air conditioner and called the police. The two people in the car were arrested for attempted grand larceny.

Two short years ago Conrady could barely get sponsors for the site. Now he’s got people from as far away as Finland asking him to give them a call about the site.

Commercial and residential security dealer Thomas Schwab was convinced to invest after seeing a webinar Conrady spoke at. Schwab believes Crimeseen can be especially helpful for neighborhoods in which police departments don’t have many resources. “What really struck me was the ability for community-based self-policing,” Schwab said in an interview with the Oklahoman.

One cool feature that the website has is 'One for the Road' - if the victim knows the approximate time a crime occurred, he can look at footage of roads nearby to try to spot the suspect’s vehicle.

No more stolen vehicles! Would you use this website or would you just call 911 and let the law handle it?