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Where do the good
ideas come from?
In this
column, we offer our readers the opportunity
to learn about — and benefit from — some of
the cutting-edge technologies being implemented
by law enforcement colleagues around the world.
San Francisco Launches Crime Mapping
System
The Omega Group announces that the San Francisco
Police Department (SFPD) has implemented Crime
Mapping for Public Safety, also known as CrimeMAPS,
a crime mapping system designed to produce computerized
maps showing density, frequency, and patterns
of all types of crime incidents.
CrimeMAPS incorporates the CrimeView suite
of crime mapping software solutions from the
Omega Group. The application, which runs on
the ESRI (Environmental Systems Research Institute)
software platform ArcGIS, encompasses the entire
enterprise of policing-planning and resource
allocation, crime incident pattern and trend
analysis, and a community interface.
CrimeMAPS is designed as a decentralized system
for the day-to-day use of officers and district
station command staff. It allows field officers
to be self-reliant and to conduct their own analysis
of recent incidents in their patrol sectors. The
department has designated three to four officers
at each station to serve as facilitators.
"No officer should be going out on patrol without
having reviewed the crime mapping reports available
to them," said Chief Heather Fong. CrimeMAPS
reports enhance traditional reports, such as
lists of license plates of stolen vehicles,
with maps that show where and when those cars
were taken. Furthermore, officers who have been
off duty can easily query CrimeMAPS to find
out what has been occurring in their patrol
sectors during their absence.
CrimeMAPS is designed to remove crime trend analysis.
Before CrimeMAPS, the San Francisco department's
monitoring of crime incidents was largely based
on reports made by officers and others. Relying
on the perception of officers or on the assertiveness
of one or two highly vocal neighborhood groups
sometimes led to inefficient use of personnel.
With precautions in place to protect privacy
and confidentiality, CrimeMAPS is available
to the public on the Internet. As Chief Fong
explained, citizens will be able to come to
community meetings prepared to ask the SFPD
what the department is doing about trends that
the citizens have observed directly from their
use of CrimeMAPS.
For more information,
click
here, and insert number 110 in the box on
the Reader Service Number response service.
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July
2004
