Philadelphia Police say their new system is helping them reduce crime in the city. It’s a geographic information system that police are now using to pull daily crime reports. With only the click of a mouse, Philadelphia police can see the type of crime that took place and where it occurred.
“This way we can deploy faster,” said Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Dennis Wilson. “We know immediately where the crime is occurring, what type of crimes and who’s committing them.”
The system includes a map which helps police pinpoint crime patterns by street, neighborhood and citywide. The system also allows police to track where officers are at any given point during their shift so that they can make sure they’re actually patrolling crime-ridden areas.
“We’re definitely seeing results,” Wilson said.
While police admit that the idea of pinpointing crime on a map is far from new, they say their new system now allows them to instantly see where the crime is happening and deploy officers, as opposed to sifting through paperwork, which could take days.
Lucas Raye of Hunting Park told NBC10 that drug dealers took over part of his neighborhood earlier this year until police who were using the new system, noticed the problem and saturated the area.
“Just seeing them on foot, on horseback or just patrolling has discouraged a lot of individual around there who tend to populate the one corner,” Raye said.
Data released by East Detectives, which covers three districts in the city, shows that thefts and burglaries are down this year compared to last by 9 percent. Violent crime is down 22 percent while arrests for gun crimes, prostitution and drugs are up 32 percent.
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
Despite the early success, Wilson admits more work needs to be done to combat crime in the city.
“There is crime,” Wilson said. “But we’re working very, very hard.”
