Community Demonstration Project Baltimore Police Department June 27, 2000 Regional Crime Analysis GIS (RCAGIS) Developed by the United States Department of Justice Criminal Division Geographic Information Systems Staff

Why Baltimore City? Population: 736,014 (1990 Census) 1998 Second Most Violent Big City in America Among the 30 largest cities - Ranked 2nd in violent crime - Ranked 2nd in total felony crime - Ranked 2nd in murder rate homicides in Baltimore City Seven times the national average

Baltimore City PD Baltimore County PD Howard County PD... HIDTA 13 Police DepartmentsDial-up ConnectionMaster Database Formed RCAS, an incorporated, not-for-profit agency Standardized crime incident data Geocode own crime data Independent LANs 13,600 records in 1998 Upload/Download 2-3 times per week

What is RCAGIS? Mapping,Chiefs, sheriffs, and commissioners Analysis, andCommanders Reporting tools:Crime analysts Managers Officers Flexible:Add new users and data without additional computer programming Easy to use:3 modules, all menu driven Automated reports Spatial and temporal analysis Generate maps and reports in less than one minute Inexpensive:$100 per PC, MapObjects 2.0 Delivery date: April 3, 2000

RCAGIS Members

The Greater Baltimore Area

Two Primary Purposes of GIS to Law Enforcement 1. Tactical and strategic responses to crime –Prevent crime, reduce crime, clear cases –Identify target areas, trends, potential suspects –Proactive measures –Assist commanders to deploy officers more effectively –Use a variety of data sources 2. Officer and commander accountability –Take action against crime and measure the effectiveness of the anti-crime initiative

Auto Theft and Recovery Locations and Auto Theft Hot Spots This map shows the need for a regional focus and the similarity of auto theft hot spots using two different methods.

Compare Locations of Open and Cleared Cases and Identify Potential Suspects RCAGIS allows the user to compare concentrations of open and cleared cases, identify incident similarities, and identify potential suspects.

Tactical Responses Often Require Planimetric Data and Aerial Photographs The buildings are life-like in shape and size and they are shaded according to type of use.

Measure Program Effectiveness Through Thematic Mapping: Show Changes in Crime and Crime Displacement Effects Baltimore County’s Strategic Objective Areas shaded according to the amount of crime.

Early Warning System RCAGIS calculates a threshold of crime for a given region and then uses statistics to warn the user of increases in crime.

Detect Trends Over Time For the Dundalk area, the top box shows during which cycles the crime level threshold was breached. The bottom box shows where the crimes took place in Dundalk and the mean center of those crimes.

Detect Trends and Identify Potential Suspects This map shows a high concentration of arrestees and DOC releasees near incident locations and PALs.

Clear Cases on Mobile Offenders This map demonstrates the need for a regional approach to fighting crime.

RCAGIS Layout

RCAGIS Reports

Thankful to be a CDP site Metadata is “twice removed” from local law enforcement agencies (LEAs) –Good reason to include an LEA as a site –Poses new communication challenges Resources –Crime Analysis Unit is at half-staff –Lack of funds, other resources –Lack of previous knowledge about metadata Community Demonstration Project Issues for BPD

RCAGIS April 3 - Delivered RCAGIS 1.0 (we had several alpha and beta versions) –Automated and interactive crime analysis –Automated and interactive mapping –Automated reports June 5 - Began training Baltimore County Police Department (Baltimore City and Howard County to immediately follow) –Officers –Crime Analysts –Police managers and command staff RCAGIS Status

Data Sharing and Metadata Two BPD personnel received metadata training Identified geographic data to share via clearinghouse nodes Identified a potential clearinghouse node –(University of Maryland, Baltimore County) Improved relationship with Baltimore City GIS Staff RCAGIS Status

Next Steps Find the appropriate NSDI node to serve as a host Encourage other RCAGIS police departments to use FGDC metadata standards Document and share the success of CDP and RCAGIS

Partners Baltimore City Police Department –Sgt. Paul Herman Baltimore County Police Department –Phil Canter Dr. Ned Levine (developer of CrimeStat) Our Staff –USDOJ/Criminal Division John E. De Voe Alex Mudd –INDUS Corporation David Nulph Jeff Burka Robert Crump Ron Wilson

For additional information please contact: Alex Mudd U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division GIS Staff 1400 New York Ave., Rm Washington, DC Phone: (202) USDOJ Criminal Division Web Site