Photo by john larson
SERVE AND PROTECT. Officers working out of police stations such as this one on Hilltop will soon have better access to crime statistics and trends while on patrol.
Tacoma Police Department (TPD) has a wealth of information on crime. But to make that information usable for officers patrolling the streets, it needs a system to mine that data and organize it in an efficient way.
Lieutenant Kathy McAlpine gave an update on the department’s efforts in this area during Tacoma City Council’s Public Safety, Human Services and Education Committee meeting on Nov. 19.
TPD recently hired an information technology supervisor, assessed its needs in this area and reorganized this section. It wants to hire two new crime analysts. McAlpine thinks people leaving military service at the local bases provide an ideal pool of recruits.
McAlpine explained how TPD is developing a comprehensive, data-based approach to crime management. This is based on four principles – accurate and timely intelligence; effective tactics; rapid deployment of resources and relentless follow-up and assessment.
Lieutenants in charge of TPD’s four sectors have identified their critical data and training needs.
“We are always looking for the most progressive, efficient way of doing business,” she said.
TPD received $435,000 in federal funding from a Crime Early Warning System (CEWS) grant.
Officers have laptop computers in their patrol cars. The idea behind CEWS is to alert them to emerging crime trends. When a trend is detected, supervisors would send an e-mail to officers on patrols. The officer would click on a link in the e-mail and view data.
In the near future, officers will be able to pull up information on a variety of topics, such as the number of calls for service for a particular address, or whether someone being questioned has a court order to avoid areas of prostitution or drug activity.
Captain Mike Miller gave an example of burglaries being up 20 percent in an area. An officer on the graveyard shift could peruse reports filed by an officer working the same sector during the day. If a majority of burglaries are occurring around noon on weekdays and a school is in the neighborhood, it could lead officers to suspect that students are committing the break-ins on their lunch breaks.
The system could assist police around Pierce County. Lakewood Police Department is a partner in the grant and Law Enforcement Support Agency is working with the two departments in implementing the system.
The money from the grant will fund the system for about two years. Chief Don Ramsdell said this is something TPD will want to sustain and will need to identify funding for in the future.
TPD was not successful in landing qualified applicants when it first posted the analyst openings and will likely need to post them again. “If it takes another month or two it is worth it to get the right people,” McAlpine said. “We are taking time to build the system we need. I am excited. We are moving in the right direction.
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