The Creation of PredPol: The Predictive Policing Program

Aug. 23, 2012 - PRLog -- About one year after the Santa Cruz Police Department piloted a new beta predictive policing software developed by a team of mathematicians, the company PredPol was formed to meet the demand from law enforcement agencies throughout the country. Today we sat down with company CEO Caleb Baskin, a managing partner of a law firm and one of the founders of the nation's largest co-working business NextSpace Co-Working and Innovation to ask him some questions about the company.

Why did you think there was a need to create a company?

Mr. Baskin: The response from agencies around the country and around the world to the research and trials in Santa Cruz and Los Angeles was tremendous.  These two agencies were inundated with hundreds of inquiries from law enforcement personnel seeking to get access to this new tool.  That demand simply could not be met within the framework of the academic experiment being conducted by Dr. Mohler and Dr. Brantingham.  Building a company, which could make this Software as a Service available to any agency that needs it, was the only responsible thing to do. Dr. Mohler and Dr. Brantingham continue to test and improve the software to ensure we are providing the most accurate, scientifically-tested product at a price that cash-strapped agencies can afford.

What are the main goals of the company?  

Mr. Baskin: PredPol's goal is to provide intuitive and effective tools that let law enforcement agencies predict crime in real time, before it occurs.  We are leveraging the cloud to do this at a price point that is affordable to all agencies, large or small.  Cutting edge technology and science have a crucial roll to play in public safety (and other sectors of government) and PredPol is making those tools available to agencies now. It's important that smaller cities have access to big time analytics and this program provides that.

How is this different from other products on the market?  

Mr. Baskin: PredPol is the only tool that tells agencies where and when crime is likely to occur, down to a micro-place location only 500 feet by 500 feet, in real time.  These aren't heat maps or other forms of data visualization.  PredPol generates specific, precise actionable intelligence that agencies can use to deploy their limited resources in the most effective manner possible. This was created and tested jointly by cops and professors. This is public service oriented. We believe in our product and know that it can reduce crime so we are enthusastic about providing it at a fair price for cities large and small.

For more information you can visit predpol.com.