Highest crime rate in LA or LAPD map glitch?

The Los Angeles Police Department’s online crime map made news this week – for inaccuracy. The site incorrectly located several crimes in downtown L.A. near City Hall and the police station.

The map purported that 39 major crimes including grand theft auto, robberies and aggravated assaults had occurred there.

In reality, the crimes took place directly in front of the Los Angeles Times building, a crime-infested area.

The police station’s geocoding which converts written addresses into points on electronic maps, couldn’t pinpoint the correct address.

The Web site is offered to the public as an awareness tool. Most of the time, the process works fine; but when it falters, these mistakes can cause panic.

The contractor that designed the LAPD site, Lightray Productions, promised to fix the problems once alerted by creating longitude and latitude points.

A spokesman for the LAPD said the department will add a disclaimer to its site once it’s cleared by the city attorney.