Saturday, December 3, 2011

GIS Changes "Business Model" for the New Orleans Police


A recent upgrade to the crime mapping software used by the New Orleans Police has resulted in a more focused delivery of services by the force.  To read the article as published in The Times-Picayune on November 22, 2011, go here.

Comment: Although this article prominently mentions the amount of money the software costs, what it fails to do is mention the amount of money potentially saved through the ability to target areas of crime.  For example, without this software, how many more officers would be needed on the payroll to deliver the same level of protection to the city's inhabitants and visitors?  Although the answer to that question is still in the balance, it is not unreasonable to believe that by using a GIS to effectively determine crime hot spots, and then targeting resources there on, geospatial technologies will be serving as a force multiplier for a whole lot less money.

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