BEND, OR -- Bend launched two new high tech tools for the public this week. One is an online dashboard to track police calls. Mayor Melanie Kebler says the goal is to make information easier to find. "Now you can go to our dashboard, and it will show you types of calls, how many calls they’re receiving in the past few years, where those calls are happening. And you can actually take a map and highlight your neighborhood to see generally where calls are happening." She tells KBND News, "And there’s also some representation of data about mental health calls and how those are being responded to. Since we’ve implemented some crisis response calls to divert those calls away from police, we’ve seen less police response to mental health calls, and that’s what we want to see. We want the right resource going to those calls."

The data is updated daily from the 911 dispatch system. Individual addresses are not listed on the map, nor are certain types of calls like domestic abuse and rape. Click HERE for details. 

There's also a new pre-paid parking option for the downtown parking garage for special events. "We want the parking experience to be easy so you can go enjoy the rest of your time downtown," says Kebler. "You can actually use our parking app to prepay and come on down and park in the parking garage. And that will get you in and out much quicker. You know that you’ve got a spot reserved because you’ve paid for it and you don’t have to worry so much about parking. You can get out of your car, get around downtown and have fun."

Drivers create an account on the Pango App or the website Mypango.com, select the event they’re attending - like First Friday - and pay in advance. A QR code allows access to the garage. Or, if the permit is linked to the license plate, you just drive in.