Among the more intriguing and/or disturbing features on the City of Boulder's web site is a crime map feature that allows residents and other curious Internet surfers to see precisely where a variety of offenses have occurred throughout the community in a given week -- in today's case, the one ending September 18. Click on the "Aggravated Assault" button, for instance, and five aquamarine dots pop up. Likewise, three bright-red circles appear upon clicking "Sex Crime," six green ones represent "Residential Burglaries," and 21 purple orbs stand for "Vandalism." In all, 47 incidents took place in eight categories during the most recent week, most of them massed around the area of The Hill. It's a fascinating and useful tool, as well as a fine argument for investing in some pepper spray.

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