The following article, written by Beacon Journal reporter, Jody Miller, was posted October 18,2009.

By Jody Miller
Special to the Beacon Journal

BATH TWP.: The township has launched a software program that will allow the public to view police incident reports online.  Police Chief Michael McNeely said the program is just the latest in the department's toolbox for computerizing crime reports.  ''This is another way we can help the community, McNeely said.

To view the reports, click on ''Police Department'' on the left side of the township's Web site at http://www.bathtownship.org. Then click on CrimeReports.

The Web site displays a map of the township that shows where the incidents were reported. Reports are available for the last 30 days.  ''We hope this may create awareness among neighbors, keep the community informed, keep us safer and lead to the closure of some crimes,'' McNeely said.

The department plans to update the reports daily.  ''It is already linked to our computer-aided dispatch and will automatically go onto our site,'' McNeely said. ''Anybody can log onto our Web site, click on the report and read what might have happened overnight.''

McNeely said all police reports and traffic accident reports for Bath will soon be available online, with the traffic reports printable as PDF files.  ''This will cut down on the workload of our administrative employees and provide easy access to the reports by attorneys, insurance companies and the people themselves,'' he said.

There are a number of departments in the state using this software, McNeely said, but only Bath, Cleveland and Lakewood have signed up so far in Northeast Ohio.