Columbus Police Restore Online Crime Map Two Years After Cyberattack Criminal Activity Deputy Chief Tim Myers Tool Interface Cyberattack

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — Columbus residents can once again online for crimes reported across the city after the service disappeared following a cyberattack two years ago.

A new version of online reports has appeared on the Columbus Police Department’s transparency page, including an interactive map that shows criminal activity reported across the city and allows neighbors to look up crimes as close as their own block.

“You can zoom in on one particular neighborhood, that you are interested in, a particular block that you are interested in, or you can zoom out and the records will populate as you do that,” Columbus Police Deputy Chief Tim Myers said.

The map’s data goes back 28 days, but users can crime reports as far back as three years. The data also includes the day and time of a crime, whether there was an arrest, and the names of people charged.

The portal also allows users to export data to tables for other uses.

Police said they took their time creating an updated tool with a modern interface rather than simply restoring the crime portal taken down after the cyberattack. “The old portal, the functionality was there. But it was using some older technology,” Myers said.

Some crimes, including sexual assaults, are not shown on the map because of privacy protections for victims. Those crimes are included in a separate portal that tracks data.