Intelligence-Led Policing Executive Summary
Five Trends to Help You See Ahead & Create Safer Communities Chicago debuted the first police call boxes in 1877, allowing citizens and police to report threats in 11 major categories. The portable radio advanced this capability, allowing law enforcement and public safety agencies even more responsiveness. However, while the advent of the fusion center represents a massively sophisticated evolution, these are all primarily reactive technologies. The events of 9/11 accelerated the advent of intelligence-led policing: data gathering and analysis capabilities, in both the human and technological dimensions. This empowered public safety agencies to introduce a scientifically based method for predicting threats and allocating resources to stop problems before they became problems. The broken windows theory gave departments a beginning framework for predictive policing that yielded apparent gains (particularly in the well-publicized practice of the New York City police department during the 1990s), but the rapid development of Department of Defense-developed infrastructure and technologies have brought a new level of power and credibility to the practice of intelligence-led policing. We developed this executive brief to help public safety and law enforcement agencies spot and make sense of the larger trends that will impact your ability to proactively deal with threats and better enable you to safeguard American communities. 1 All crime, incident and related data will be instantly searchable One of the biggest drivers for effective intelligence-led policing will be the ability of investigators at all levels to search all pertinent data from a single tool. This single repository will massively reduce the time of exploring multiple databases and evidence types (multimedia, electronic and paper). This means less wasted time and one-screen command of investigations, with commanders quickly seeing relevant data and putting their field resources in the optimal place and time. In the instance of criminal investigations, commanders and investigators can quickly marshal a single view of a suspect s records, identities, addresses, connections to other cases and more - to speed efficiency of investigations and get lawbreakers off the street faster. 1
2 Finding connections in unified data will enable predictive policing Being able to quickly search all evidence yields a greater ability to spot patterns and trends for proactive policing. Many ways of not only linking, but visualizing your data link analysis, geotemporal views, even bars and graphs will reveal criminal methodologies and present a clear, actionable picture of where resources can be placed to prevent the next threat from materializing. Being able to visualize connections between problem activity in multiple ways brings a new level of sophistication to the broken windows approach and is already driving successful new applications in communities across the U.S. 3 Agencies will integrate global and proprietary data for a complete picture Being able to quickly search all evidence yields a greater ability to spot patterns and trends for proactive policing. Many ways of not only linking, but visualizing your data link analysis, geotemporal views, even bars and graphs will reveal criminal methodologies and present a clear, actionable picture of where resources can be placed to prevent the next threat from materializing. Being able to visualize connections between problem activity in multiple ways brings a new level of sophistication to the broken windows approach and is already driving successful new applications in communities across the U.S. 4 Agencies will be able to protect their data (while sharing easily at the critical juncture) No law enforcement agency wants to surrender control or expose their data to unwanted leaks and hacks. Today s solutions put a barbed wire fence around your agency or department s proprietary evidence and efforts. Yet, this requirement doesn t have to be a hindrance to eliminating the time and space barriers of investigations within your department. Secure, encrypted tools for letting your team work quickly together while maintaining control of your data are here today. In intelligence-led agencies, crime scene data from mobile devices can help departments coordinate information from all sources more quickly while ensuring that your data remains yours. 2
5 Agencies will add technology that enables, not distracts Law enforcement technology should have one overriding purpose to help policing agencies do what they do, better. Technology with a huge learning curve, complicated features, or significant impact on best practices will not help you see and solve the next threat. The new wave of technology for intelligence-led policing helps commanders, investigators and analysts simply be better at what they do and then stays out of the way. Effectiveness is not just measured in features and functions but rather in terms of usability and results. The rapid evolution of intelligence-led policing tools should mean that your technology provider has created a streamlined workflow and user experience that fits the way your department or agency works not the other way around. Case Study Milwaukee Safe Streets Initiative Key features of the ILP component of the Milwaukee Safe Streets Initiative included expanded information-gathering capabilities and enhanced analytic capabilities, with the purpose of timely dissemination of actionable intelligence. The city attacked the problem along multiple lines, including specialized neighborhood task forces and hot-spot patrolling. They also observed the connection between auto theft and corresponding crime rates and were able to analyze automobiles most at risk by type, geographic area and time of day, which drove an aggressive traffic enforcement program targeting at-risk vehicles. To make optimum use of the intelligence, the Milwaukee Police Department created Neighborhood Task Forces to respond to changing conditions and augment districts with special needs. Officer accountability was a large part of the plan, with officers being tasked to aggressively target at-risk vehicles and proactively seek to remove weapons from the streets of Milwaukee. The success rate was phenomenal. Milwaukee saw a major reduction in crime, with a remarkable 60 percent drop in murders of young African-American males, the most at-risk group in the United States. 3
A study titled Reducing Crime Through Intelligence-Led Policing from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (U.S. Department of Justice), illustrated the effectiveness of intelligence-led policing in safeguarding communities. By 2004, the homicide rate in Milwaukee had surpassed that of New York City, jumping from 88 murders in 2004 to 122 in 2005. A large portion of this dramatic increase was due to a rising gang population combined with an increased aggressiveness by gangs in general. While cooperation between agencies was generally positive, the city faced limited ability to share and analyze information and collaboration/information sharing was inconsistent. Conclusion While technology isn t a magic bullet good partnership and policy work goes hand in hand with effective intelligence the technology that drives effective intelligence-led policing today has come a long way from the police call box and can help agencies realize large gains in public safety. The information technology behind these gains will: Enable agencies to search all of their relevant information from a single source. Enable more proactive policing by helping investigators analyze and draw critical connections in bodies of data. Easily integrate open-source and proprietary department or agency data. Allow agencies to protect their proprietary data, while enabling collaboration when appropriate. Enable, not distract from, good police and investigative work. 4
About Dfuze The Dfuze Intelligence Management System allows customers in more than 22 countries to securely store and maintain all data related to virtually any incident including: IED, EOD, criminal gang, terrorist or firearm incidents and/or operations. The system provides a centralized view of all significant data on record, enabling rapid search and retrieval. With its built-in analytical tools and secure data sharing, Dfuze provides an effective and powerful solution for data entry, data linking, data searching and data retrieval end to end intelligence management. The Dfuze Enterprise client allows users to operate in a server-based or stand-alone environment to securely store and share intelligence information. Media files can be attached and then associated with any record in the system through a robust linking capability. In addition, the easy-to-use data mining tool allows for the search of structured and unstructured data, and attached media to ensure the search leaves no stone unturned. Data is fully encrypted, can run on encrypted networks, and can also be translated for multi-lingual support to enable information sharing across communities. About ISS ISS is a company that cares deeply about data and, most importantly, about empowering our customers by delivering the right data at the right time. ISS serves a diverse customer base encompassing numerous branches of the U.S. military, many government, public safety, and law enforcement agencies, and large commercial enterprises. ISS sophisticated data visualization, event analysis, and pattern detection technologies turn customers information overload into information advantage. From the battlefield to the Fortune-500 conference room, ISS solutions help its customers make actionable decisions when it counts. Contact 5450 Tech Center Drive Suite 400 Colorado Springs, CO 80919 Phone: 719-452-7000 Email: info@issinc.com 5