The Apex Police Department and CrimeReports.com have partnered for a new on-line Crime Alerting and Mapping Service.

"If [someone goes] to the town of Apex Web site, under ‘Department' click ‘Police' then ‘Crime Stats,' it will bring them to the crime report page," Apex Police Captain Ann Stephens explained.

Stephens says it's an easy way to find out everything you want to know about crime in your community.

"We get multiple inquiries a week about crimes, and it is very time consuming for us, so we got a company to input our data, and the public can access that information," Stephens said.

Residents can access police reports, see a map of locations where certain crimes occurred and sign up to get alert e-mail.

Amanda Townsend says her four kids are first on her mind.

"I think parents are concerned about the goings on in their neighborhoods. They want to know if there's predator," Townsend said.

Terry Natterer worries about theft.

"It seems like a great idea to be able to log on and see the crime; like break-ins or if there's people breaking in to other people's homes," Natterer said.

Stephens says it is also a good way to unite the department and the community.

"People hear of a break-in and they think of something they may have seen the night before, and they give us a call with the information," Stephens said.

The information remains on the site for about six months before it is no longer available to the public

The entire project is costing $5,000 a year out of the police department's budget. Access is free to the public.