In late August, the London Assembly's Budget and Performance Committee issued a report that warned the Metropolitan Police (Met) had not done enough to keep up (technologically) with the times. A failure to leverage mobile handheld devices, social media, and predictive crime mapping were specifically cited. When discussing predictive crime mapping, efforts underway in Los Angeles were noted with the following statement about the technology: "it works; it is evidenced; it is professional practice". In late September, Met Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe followed up on the report by telling the press his force and others around the U.K. would soon be moving to predictive crime mapping as a standard practice. More below:
(Greater London Authority News Release, August 30, 2013)
(Greater London Authority, August 30, 2013)
(TechEye.net, October 3, 2013)
Comments: Three thoughts:
- Predictive crime mapping doesn't work without GIS.
- Crime events in Los Angeles have dropped 12-25% since the technique was applied.
- If you are a Police Chief currently operating without a GIS capability, you might want to consider what's going to be the best bang for your buck next time you put in a budget request. The "on the street" manpower needed to achieve a 12-25% reduction in crime, or one good GIS operator with a computer and software?
Photo credit: Greater London Authority
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