Is Predictive Policing Coming to Arizona?

Aug. 14, 2012 - PRLog -- Could predictive policing be coming to Arizona? Besieged by an increase in vehicle and residential burglaries, agencies in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area are considering implementing predictive policing in their jurisdictions. Nearly a dozen agencies in Arizona have reached out to PredPol to learn more about the software program and find out how the predictive policing program can be implemented in their areas.  

PredPol uses a complex algorithm to identify 500-square-foot geographical areas for police to patrol. These locations are where crime is likely to occur - providing predictions for law enforcement that have up until this point exclusively relied on reactive-based policing. The software program provides real time prediction maps for officers to patrol.

Built on the same model predicting aftershocks after an earthquake, the PredPol software uses simple and constantly calibrated data: location, time and type of crime. The program requires no new hardware or staff to manage, which is key during tight budget times.

Zach Friend, a Crime Analyst with the Santa Cruz Police Department, one of the first agencies in the nation to deploy this program notes, “we’re facing a situation where we have 30 percent more calls for service but 20 percent less staff than in the year 2000, and that is going to continue to be our reality. So we have to deploy our resources in a more effective way. This model does that.”

The technology has been beta tested in the Santa Cruz for the past year, and in an L.A. police precinct for the past six months, with promising results.

Santa Cruz Police have seen a 19 percent reduction in burglaries since implementing the program while Los Angeles Police have seen 25 percent reduction. Both agencies saw reductions tied directly to the crime types the PredPol system targeted. LAPD said the implementation of the program has saved over $4 million in costs to the community.