How IBM Helps Drive Public Safety With Big Data

by Darryl K. Taft

The Durham police department has an Analytical Services department. Using IBM analytics technology, the department has reduced the amount of violent crime in a two-square-mile region of the city by more than 50 percent during a four-year span from 2007 to 2011. Levering historical data, they created an intelligent database where they could access and visualize data that showed relationships across people, places and other entities.

With IBM technology, the Vancouver Police Department’s (VPD) Analytical team developed a crime and intelligence analysis system called Consolidated Records Intelligence Mining Environment (CRIME). The system has the capacity to view and analyze crime-related data, uncover trends, and accurately predict when and where crimes are likely to occur. Since deploying this new crime analysis technology, property crime rates have dropped citywide per 1,000 residents by 24 percent and violent crime rates have decreased by 9 percent from 2007 to 2011. At the same time, the VPD has decreased the time needed to analyze data by up to 98 percent.

The MPD has enhanced its crime-fighting techniques with IBM predictive analytics software and reduced serious crime by more than 30 percent, including a 15 percent reduction in violent crimes, since 2006. The MPD is now able to evaluate incident patterns throughout the city and forecast criminal “hot spots” to proactively allocate resources and deploy personnel, resulting in improved force effectiveness and increased public safety. For instance, in January 2010, targeted police operations in Memphis’ Hollywood-Springdale neighborhood resulted in more than 50 arrests of drug dealers; plus, the area has witnessed a 36.8 percent reduction in crime.

The Edmonton, Alberta, police are using IBM business analytics technology to help reduce crime, improve force effectiveness and increase public safety. In Western Canada, the Edmonton Police Service is responsible for policing a regional population with more than 1 million residents. The police service turned to IBM analytics technology to spot crime trends and link performance goals from the executive to the constables on the street. With business analytics technology, Edmonton police are able to see data in near real time. They put crime information directly into the hands of front-line patrol officers so they can use it to quickly identify problems, associated trends and locations of crimes to determine their response and problem-solving solutions.

Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and IBM researchers are collaborating using advanced data and analytics tools that will assist in optimizing resources. Initially, the project will focus on increasing the likelihood of deterring crime. Specifically, the Fort Lauderdale Police Department will use the new capabilities to better identify where to deploy its resources for maximum impact. The project will analyze a variety of complex sources of big data, including 911 call records, crime records, specials events information, public transportation routes, code enforcement and building permit activity.

The Rochester, N.Y., police are using advanced analytics software from IBM to mine, share and extract intelligence from data to improve police investigative and prevention programs. By identifying incident patterns, the police department can forecast crime “hot spots” and proactively allocate resources accordingly. The project in Rochester is part of a growing trend among local governments around the world to establish smarter cities where safety and services for citizens are improved through new technologies while preserving government budget resources.

Regarding environmental crime, the crime analyst for the U.K.-based nongovernmental organization Environmental Investigation Agency is using IBM big data capabilities to link seemingly disparate cases of illegal trafficking of different species to a group of enterprises, subsequently identifying further connections between associates of this network and additional trafficking cases across continents.

IBM is working with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) to help improve the city’s public safety and share information with the agency’s regional partners. Used by more than 3,000 law enforcement agencies across the U.S., IBM’s i2 crime analytics software will enable LVMPD officers to make non-obvious connections based on information previously spread across the department. IBM’s crime-fighting software will enable LVMPD to rapidly analyze vast quantities of seemingly unrelated data currently housed in four disparate databases. Departments that use the solution, COPLINK, can form information sharing agreements across the state and with other states and jurisdictions that also use COPLINK.

South Carolina’s CPD is working with IBM to assist the city’s more than 400 police officers to more accurately evaluate and forecast crime patterns by applying predictive analytics software that analyzes past and present crime records in seconds and evaluates incident and arrest patterns throughout the city. Over the past five years, the city of Charleston has reduced crime through a variety of initiatives, including implementing a new crime analysis system, increasing focused patrol strategies using weekly crime meetings to identify “hot spots,” and introducing new technology to capture and disseminate information quickly to enhance officer situational awareness and productivity.