On Thursday the Blue Springs Police Department rolled out its new online crime map for the public, just hours after a home burglary that led police on a high-speed chase.
In the early morning hours, 23-year-old Nathan Stiuewe woke up to a burglar in his home, leading to a fight with the crook.
“I pushed him into my closet door. I started whaling on him. I did punch him a couple times,” said Stiuewe.
The burglar took his keys and led police on a chase that eventually ended in Independence.
Blue Springs police said the new online map can help gather evidence in crimes like this one.
“It could help like down the road if we are looking for any other evidence or things that have happened around that area,” said Jennifer Dachenhausen with the Blue Springs Police Department.
The new map gives a date, time, and general address of where the crime occurred. People can also submit tips and look for hot spots from crime.
“We felt that this was something that the public would be able to utilize to find crimes within their areas and to better connect with the police department on different incidents and crimes that we have going on, help us to identify patterns, trends and series that we have going on,” said Dachenhausen.
It’s anther way for people to stay informed.
“I don’t always watch the news all the time, so it would be nice to have the information at my finger tips,” said Julie Marrioott of Blue Springs.
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Ali Hoxie can be reached at ali.hoxie@kshb.com
