The system, which would cost about $1,200 a year, would be through crimemapping.com and would tell citizens where, when and what kind of crimes occur in their area.

The idea of mapping crimes sounds good in theory, but might not be necessary in a city as small and as lacking in serious crimes as East Lansing.

The system might cost so little money that the city can afford it, but that still doesn’t make it worthwhile. The money could aid toward things such as repairs to police equipment.

According to the 2010 Census, East Lansing has a population of 48,579. This number includes MSU students who register as East Lansing residents. That’s still a substantially smaller population than the city of Lansing, which has a population of 114,297. So it’s a small enough place where students and residents are able to recognize the good areas from the not-so-good areas without the need for a map.

East Lansing is a place where word travels fast. If an incident happens in a dorm or neighborhood, thanks to alerts and word-of-mouth, residents and students are aware and able to take precautions in a timely manner.

Serious crimes also are not as much of a problem in East Lansing. For example, from 2000 to 2010 East Lansing recorded a total of nine murders, whereas Lansing recorded 113 in the same time frame. Less than a murder a year is a definite indication that East Lansing isn’t exactly a crime hub.

There might also be a more affordable mapping system that would have the same impact. A Google map with crime data attached could provide the same information at a drastically cheaper price: for free.

Crime in East Lansing mostly consists of thefts, burglaries and assaults, hardly crimes police need to track. Spending money on a crime mapping system seems silly in a place where the most crimes are usually those of drunk college kids.

A mapping system would provide greater transparency within the police department and provide another tool for citizens to gain more information about their community. However, East Lansing is a relatively small area for the East Lansing police officers to cover, so it is easy for people to know where most crimes happen and where police are.

In larger cities such as Lansing or Detroit, the mapping systems already have been implemented and proven helpful. The city of East Lansing isn’t large enough and doesn’t have enough violent crimes to warrant such a mapping system, and the people of East Lansing should be grateful of that fact.