Community and Problem-Oriented Policing

1. Community and Problem-Oriented Policing Seventh Edition Chapter 7 Tools for Problem Solving: Using Information Technology

2. Learning Objectives (1 of 2) 7.1 How information technology came to policing, how it has evolved, and the role police chief executives believe it plays. 7.2The conceptual framework underlying use of IT for problem-oriented policing. 7.3 The role in, and contributions of, crime analysis to problem solving. 7.4How to determine which IT tools to use for particular police operations.

3. Learning Objectives (2 of 2) 7.5 The basics of crime mapping functions and real-time crime centers. 7.6 Four crime management strategies: CompStat, intelligence-led policing, predictive policing, and smart policing. 7.7How social media and civic apps are being applied to crime fighting.

4. Introduction • Since the Great Recession police agencies had to learn to operate smarter and more affordably • Needed to use technology in more efficient ways • IT can serve as a “force multiplier” and give police agencies a distinct advantage in combating crime • RAND reported IT can improve effectiveness of operations and generate cost savings

5. First Things First: It Comes to PolicingEarly Federal Stimulus • IT is anything related to computing technology • IT has become the backbone of problem-oriented policing • Federal Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA) • Lasted 13 years and was abolished in 1982 • Spent $7.5 billion on criminal justice programs • Educated and trained thousands of criminal justice personnel • By 1993 two-thirds of local police departments were using computers

6. Chief Executives’ Views • Computers were essential in the development of the Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS) and the development of 911 • Value of community policing and problem solving quickly became evident • The current class of police chiefs believe that computer technology is crucial to successful police work • Experts believe that the dominant transformation in policing has come from computers

7. IT for Problem-Oriented Policing: A Conceptual Framework-Rational for IT • Effective law enforcement professional depend on information • Access to and use of accurate and timely information is critical to law enforcement • Routine calls for services and decisions to detain require access to data • More sophisticated policing approaches require even more specific amounts of information

8. Systems for Acquiring Crime Information (1 of 2) • Police crime information are drawn from three sources: • Operations information systems • Police radio, police records, NCIC, mobile computers, cellular phones • Command and control systems • 911, Computer-aided dispatching (CAD), vehicle locater systems • Management information systems • Police officer productivity, citizen complaints, inventory

9. Systems for Acquiring Crime Information (1 of 2) • Problem-oriented policing requires at least three other general types of police information systems: • Geographic information systems • Problem-solving information systems • External information systems

10. Crime Analysis: Revisiting SARAWhat It Is and How It Works (1 of 2) • Crime analysis is qualitative and quantitative study of crime and law enforcement information in combination with socio-demographic and spatial factors to apprehend criminals, prevent crime, reduce disorder, and evaluate organizational procedures • Can be integrated at many levels • Can identify problems, assist in collecting and analyzing data • Help determine best responses • Assess the results of problem-solving efforts

11. Crime Analysis: Revisiting SARAWhat It Is and How It Works (2 of 2) • Four types of crime analysis relate to one another in terms of the level of aggregation of the information: • Administrative • Strategic • Tactical • Criminal

12. What Crime Analysts Do? • Review daily all police reports to identify patterns and trends • Research and analyze long-term problems • Develop and link local intelligence concerning criminals and criminal organizations • Make police departments look good

13. Acquiring the Ability to Analyze Crimes • Effective problem solving requires thorough analysis of a problem • Poses the greatest challenge • Requires the greatest amount of effort and technology • First step in analysis is to determine if the agency possesses or need expertise required for effective problem analysis • Hire an agency analyst • Enlist an external analyst

14. Which IT Tools to Use? Look at Type of Police Function Involved • Technologies utilized and functions performed can be broken into three defined areas: • Support • Administrative systems, communication systems, surveillance systems • Reactive policing • Responding to CFS, emergencies, and conducting investigations • Proactive policing • Intelligence-driven operations, hot spot patrols, community-oriented engagement, and data sharing

15. Crime Mapping • Crime mapping aids in knowing where crimes occur • The influence of geography informs criminals about where to commit their crimes • Crime mapping aids the police in anticipating crime and shifting those resources to those places

16. Policing Looks at Crime and Place (1 of 2) • Maps have been around for thousands of years • London in the mid-nineteenth century used maps to determine a well was spreading cholera • 1930s Chicago used crime mapping to gather information on gangs • Automated crime mapping emerged in the 1960s • Grew with the advent of the computer and Internet • Displaying information on a map is an effective way to analyze where, how, and why crime occurs • Cityscapes and rural landscapes impact crime

17. Policing Looks at Crime and Place (2 of 2) • Computerized crime maps use software programs called geographic information systems (GIS) • Combines crimes with other geographical data • Then analyze and investigate the causes of crime and develop responses • CAD systems and demographic data can also be added • Crimes map can be overlaid with maps of causative data • Unemployment, abandoned houses, population density, drug activity, and geographic features

18. Real-Time Crime Centers • Real-time crime center (RTCC) is a new information hub containing years of voice, video, and crime data which is translated into actionable intelligence that shows criminal activity unfolding in real time • Patrol officers receive the information from RTCC via radio and computers in their cars • New York Police Department’s RTCC in 2005 • Example: Houston, Texas from Exhibit 7-2

19. CompStat • CompStat (mid-1990s) is a police management tool for analyzing crime data that is used in the problem-solving process • New York City Police Department adopted it in 1994 • Key elements: • Specific objectives • Accurate and timely intelligence • Effective tactics • Rapid deployment of personnel and resources • Relentless follow-up and assessment

20. Intelligence-Led Policing (1 of 2) • Intelligence-led policing (ILP) originated in Great Britain • Believed a relatively small number of people were responsible for a comparatively large percentage of crimes • Officers would have the best effect on crime by focusing on the most prevalent offenses • Intelligence is information plus analysis • Intelligence is not just information

21. Intelligence-Led Policing (1 of 2) • ILP can be broken down into core components • Crime analysis allows police to understand the “what, when, and where” • Intelligence analysis provides an understand of the “who”-crime networks and individuals

22. Six Step Intelligence Cycle

23. Predictive Policing • Predictive policing is the future of law enforcement • Represents a replication of the operations of private businesses and corporations • Police can learn to anticipate and prevent crime instead of responding to it • Integrates cutting-edge crime analysis, crime-fighting technology, and intelligence-lead policing • Simply by looking at patterns of behavior, crime can be predicted, and potentially prevented

24. Smart Policing: Combining the Above • Smart policing initiatives (SPI) was granted funding in June 2009 by the federal BJA • Emphasized police and criminal justice scholar partnerships working together to test solutions that were informed by crime science theories and assessed with sound evaluation methods • BJA funded $12.4 million for agency projects • Findings thus far suggest that SPI can significantly reduce violent crime, involve creative use of crime analytics and problem solving, prevent violence in hot spots, reduce service calls and property crimes

25. Applying Social Media: Lessons from Boston’s Marathon Bombing • April 15, 2013 Boston marathon bombing • Extraordinary manhunt and massive use of social media by law enforcement • Simple, but effective • Some police agencies now employ full time social media personnel • Scope of social media continues to grow • Some problems exist in using social media • Messages can be distorted • Policies need t o be established

26. Civic Apps Used to Fight Crime • Civic hacking for the public’s benefit • 2013 Chicago sponsored a “safe communities” hackathon • Led to contests to develop the best civic app

27. Dedicated Software for Problem-Solving Tasks • Police agencies need to get smarter and more high-tech • IT industries can assist the police • Communication workers can dispatch first responders quicker to the scene • Software programs in crime mapping can also be beneficial to police agencies