LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Police in Louisville, Ky., have launched a new website that features videotaped robberies in an effort to get more tips about the suspects, said the Associated Press.
The site, www.lmpdasap.com, was set up in the wake of a record number of robberies in the city this year. It allows users to get information about all the city's robberies in which store surveillance videos, still images or suspect mug shots are available. ASAP stands for Armed Suspect Apprehension Program.
Police are hoping residents will use the site to help them identify the criminals. All those eyes out there are going to help us, said robbery squad Detective Larry Duncan.
There have been 371 business robberies in Louisville this year, a 17-year high, Duncan said. Last year, there were 244 robberies at businesses.
Detectives developed the site and paid for it with money from the squad's budget. Detectives plan to update it several times a week. Police Chief Robert White said he has not found another department in the country that has a site like it.
Many convenience stores, banks and fast-food restaurants use surveillance video to monitor their businesses, said Detective James Michael Clark, who helped design the site. As the quality of those videos improves, Clark said, the police succeed more in tracking suspects. It's one of the major tools we have, Clark said.
But he said if the new site is to be effective, the public must give input.
Good police work is based on the amount of information we can get, White said. We don't care how we get the information, we just want the information.
Jane Clinard, a manager at a Circle K where a March robbery occurred, said she supports the police initiative. Anything that can help get rid of these robbers is high on my list, said Clinard. It's a very terrifying experience.
Duncan said the spike in robberies is due in part to several serial robbers who have hit multiple businesses this year. The man shown in the Circle K video is suspected in several other robberies.
Detectives have made arrests in about half of this year's robberies, said Lt. James Mueller, head of the robbery squad.
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