Public Safety
 

A Bulletin of Applied Geography for the Study of Crime & Public Safety Volume 3 Issue 2 | August 2012 

Criminal Justice and Public Health Approaches to 

Violent Crime: Complementary Perspectives 

John Markovic 

Senior Social Science Analyst 

U.S. Department of Justice, Offi ce of Community Oriented Policing Services 

G

eography & Public Safety readers, particularly those with crime analysis and mapping 

backgrounds, probably appreciate the close parallels and overlapping analytic techniques 

shared by criminal justice and public health approaches to social problems such as 

violence. Criminologists have long borrowed from public health. Many readers have seen 

the map, originally published in 1854, of cholera incidents relative to London’s Broad Street 

water pump. Indeed, even after more than 150 years, this map is still being referenced by 

criminologists and crime analysts as an early exemplar of spatial visualization and problem 

solving.1 Treating violence as if it were a contagious disease is implicit in many intervention and 

prevention programs aimed at disrupting its spread, including the “pulling levers” and “focused 

deterrence” approaches that characterize the original Boston CeaseFire program and its more 

recent replications. Th is is also true of Chicago’s own CeaseFire strategy. Although Chicago’s 

approach is distinct from the Boston strategy (and certainly not a replication), the Chicago 

CeaseFire expressly identifi es itself as a public health approach focused on street savvy outreach 

workers acting as interrupters to halt the spread of retaliatory violence. 

Th eoretical, conceptual, and analytic parallels between the two perspectives are extensive. 

As envisioned by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and others, the four-step 

process outlined in the public health model (see Figure 1 below), often characterized as a 

problem-solving strategy, is very much in line with the four-step SARA problem-solving 

approach (scanning, 

analysis, response, and 

assessment) that is 

familiar to the criminal 

justice community and 

adherents of community 

policing. Likewise, the 

public health triangle (see 

Figure 2 on page 2) and 

the crime triangle (see 

Figure 3 on page 2), at the 

core of routine activities 

approaches, convey a similar 

message; essentially, that 

an actor and a target must 

converge in a conducive 

environment (i.e., one 

without the adequate 

Figure 1. 4-Step Public Health Process 

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Injury 

Center. www.cdc.gov/ViolencePrevention/overview/ 

publichealthapproach.html 

Contents 

1 Criminal Justice and Public Health 

Approaches to Violent Crime: 

Complementary Perspectives 

3 Integrating Emergency 

Department and Police Data to 

Locate and Prevent Violence: The 

Cardiff Model 

5 Using Public Health Strategies to 

Reduce Violence in “Hot Spots” in 

East Palo Alto, California 

9 Comprehensive Community Based 

Information System to Reduce 

Youth and Gang Violence in Los 

Angeles County and Beyond 

11 What Can We Learn from Public 

Health? – An Example of Sharing 

Law Enforcement Spatial Data 

with Community Partners 

16 News Briefs 

18 Recent Events 
G&PS | August 2012 

2 

Figure 2. Public Health 

Triangle Environment

Agent Host

Why was the 

agent present? 

What made 

it dangerous? 

Who got sick? 

How sick did they get? 

Who was exposed? 

When? How? 

Source: Centers for Disease Control website. 

http://blogs.cdc.gov/genomics/2011/09/22/ 

genomics-in-public-health-preparednesschance-favors-the-prepared-mind/ 

protective factors/guardianship/resiliency) as preconditions for 

an event (crime/disease) to occur. Whether speaking of disease or 

crime, disrupting any one of the elements of the triangle represents 

an opportunity for prevention. 

As one unpacks the theoretical vantage points, empirical fi ndings, 

and practical work stemming from both the public health and 

contemporary criminal justice perspectives, the synergies and 

parallels become more apparent. Most illnesses (as well as 

indicators of health) are not randomly distributed geographically 

or demographically. Certainly, we know the same is true about 

many types of crimes (or pro-social behaviors). We also have ample 

evidence that health risks and crime risks often co-exist, both at the 

individual level and spatially. As geographic evidence, maps have 

been proffered that illustrate the spatial correlation between crime 

and disease. Maps showing concentrations of aggravated assault 

look strikingly similar to maps showing concentrations of health 

problems such as asthma, drug addiction, or sexually transmitted 

diseases (STD). Maps showing concentrations of health risks such 

as lead exposure or the proportion of mothers experiencing low 

birth weight deliveries look quite similar to maps depicting risks of being an assault victim. Co-morbidity is the 

term that would be used by public health practitioners to describe this spatial convergence of adverse indicators. 

As a collaboration effort of the Offi ce of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Offi ce) and the National 

Institute of Justice (NIJ), this publication has always embraced the principles of cross-disciplinary approaches 

and cross-fertilization. Public safety is a category broader than just crime. Crime analysts and criminologists have 

gained insights from the public health perspective and have often borrowed from its analytic toolbox. 

This issue features articles that illustrate how public health and criminological perspectives can be combined 

to develop effective and synergistic strategies to address violence. Featured are four approaches to violence 

intervention and prevention that are informed by a cross-disciplinary input and assessments, that are evidencebased, and that are capable of being evaluated, replicated, and adapted. 

The first article on the Cardiff Model perhaps speaks most directly these synergistic effects by illustrating how 

data about stabbings from two independent data sources—trauma admissions at hospital emergency departments 

and crime data on assaults from police—have been used strategically to reduce stabbing incidents in that city. 

As may be no surprise to readers that rely on administrative data themselves, neither the hospital data nor crime 

data by themselves are perfect, nor are either indicative of the 

universe of violent incidents. When the two sources of data are 

integrated, however, they lead to a more complete understanding of 

the distribution and concentration of stabbings, thereby providing 

a broader basis for a more encompassing and eff ective problemsolving response. 

The article describing an innovative program in East Palo Alto, 

California, is perhaps the most hopeful and ambitious in its 

goals. Beyond a traditional enforcement and surveillance response 

to hot spots, the East Palo Alto initiative aspires to turn hot 

spots for gun shots fired into fitness zones. Gunshot detection 

technology and health data are being used to define high risk 

areas in which geographically targeted fitness programs designed 

to simultaneously improve the health of residents and offi cers 

will be instituted. In terms of the crime triangle, the initiate’s 

design is meant to increase guardianship and reduce opportunities 

of crime. The next article on the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s 

Department’s (LASD) Community Based Information System 

Figure 3. Crime Triangle 

Source: Center for Problem-Oriented Policing. 

www.popcenter.org/about/?p=triangle 
 

 

 

 

 

 

(CBIS) illustrates the value of a multi-user 

interactive mapping system that addresses 

gang violence and its context. CBIS is 

deliberately designed around the concept 

of the ecology of neighborhood violence, 

recognizing the interdependence between 

violent crime with public health, child 

development, job market conditions, and 

community development initiatives. 

The final article is about Milwaukee’s 

Homicide Review Commission (HMRC), 

which illustrates the value of a data-driven 

multidisciplinary case review process 

for the prevention and legal resolution 

of homicides and non-fatal shootings 

in that city. The HMRC approach 

underscores the compatibility of a public 

health perspective and the problemsolving approach commonly associated 

as a tenet of community policing. Th is 

highly adaptable approach is now being 

implemented in other urban jurisdictions. 

The HMRC article also illustrates that 

problem-solving approaches to violence 

prevention are not incompatible with legal 

processes that seek to hold perpetrators of 

serious violent crime accountable for their 

behaviors. ■

Notes

1 See for instance, Weisburd, David and Tom 

McEwen. 1998.“Introduction.” In Crime Mapping 

and Crime Prevention, ed. David Weisburd and 

Tom McEwen, Monsey, New York: Criminal 

Justice Press. 1–23 

Integrating Emergency Department and Police Data to Locate and Prevent
 

Violence: The Cardiff Model 

Iain Brennan 

University of Hull 

Jonathan Shepherd, Director 

Violence Research Group and Professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Cardiff University 

T

here is convincing evidence that 

targeted policing can be eff ective 

in reducing crime and disorder.1 

However, the locations of concentrations 

of violence (‘hot spots’) change, sometimes 

very rapidly—such as in urban night-time 

economies where the number and locations 

of premises licensed to sell alcohol vary 

over time—which implies that continuous 

access to and use of reliable data are 

important. Evidence indicates that much 

violence is not reported to the police. In 

a comparison of violence aff ecting adults 

(aged over 16) in 1999 in eight western 

countries, rates of reporting violence to the 

police varied from 24% in the Netherlands 

to 52% in the United States. The rates at 

which these events were offi cially recorded 

varied from 20% in Switzerland to 82% in 

the United States.2 

In a program initiated in the United Kingdom and subsequently adopted in Scandinavia, Emergency Department (ED) and 

police data matching studies have demonstrated that only a quarter to one-third of 

violence that results in ED treatment appears in police records. Therefore, the ED 

represents a valuable source of information 

for violence prevention. 

There is growing international evidence 

that collaboration between public health 

and the police can enhance violence prevention efforts. For example, in South Africa, 

a collaboration between public health orientated research groups led to the establishment of a nationwide violence and injury 

surveillance system, which has been used to 

inform police–crime information systems.3 

In the U.K., the Crime and Disorder Act 

(1998) placed a legal obligation on police, 

local government, and the health services to 

collaborate to develop and implement joint 

crime reduction strategies. 

Evaluating a multi-agency 

violence prevention partnership— 

the Cardiff Violence Prevention 

Programme (CVPP) 

The aim of this study was to test whether 

a partnership between health and police 

practitioners and city government officials 

using data collected in EDs as well as 

police intelligence to inform targeted 

policing and other strategies, would 

prevent violence to a greater extent than 

city partnerships in which ED data are not 

collected and used. 

In July 1997, a prototype statutory 

partnership—a multi-agency violence 

prevention group, made up of 

representatives of the city government, 

police, city licensing regulators, and an 

ED consultant, and chaired by a professor 

of oral and maxillofacial surgery—was 

convened to implement such an approach 

in Cardiff, Wales (2010 population, 

327,000). In time, membership expanded 

to include representatives of education, 

transport and ambulance services, and local 

bar and nightclub licensees. After careful 

refinement—particularly of arrangements 

to assure anonymity, and share, summarize, 

and use data derived from the ED—the 

mature CVPP became operational in 

January 2003. 

In summary, for all patients reporting 

injury from violence, information about 

the precise violence location (name of bar, 

nightclub, school, park, street, etc.), and 

time, day, and weapon type that is captured 

electronically in the ED by reception staff 

when patients first attend, is stripped of 

personal identifiers and shared by hospital 

IT personnel on a monthly basis with the 

statutory partnership crime analyst. Th is 

analyst then combines data with police 

3 
4 

intelligence to generate maps of violence ‘hotspots’ and 

summaries of weapon use and violence type (classifi ed 

as ”stranger,” ”acquaintance,” and “domestic” to fi t with 

national crime survey categorization). Integrated 

violence prevention is then based on this combined, 

continuously updated information.5 

This prototype statutory partnership meets 

approximately every 6 weeks and, based on the 

combined data, has introduced and sustained a 

range of strategies designed to address specifi c risks 

and patterns observed in the data. Th ese strategies 

comprise repeated adjustments to the routes of 

police patrols and moving police resources from 

suburbs to the city center on weekends to ensure 

that police are present and able to intervene at 

specific locations and times identified by the data, 

targeting problematic licensed premises (by police 

and city government offi cials responsible for alcohol 

licensing), and informing public space Closed Circuit 

Television (CCTV) deployment. Over the course of 

the experimental period, the statutory partnership 

(which became the statutory U.K. approach to 

crime prevention following the Crime and Disorder 

Act) initiated and coordinated violence prevention 

initiatives. Prevention strategies unrelated to 

targeted policing were also implemented by the city 

government, prompted by the combined data and 

other factors such as the need to improve traffi c fl ow 

and public transport arrangements. Th ese included 

pedestrianizing sections of a city center street 

where bars and nightclubs are mainly concentrated, 

mandatory use of plastic glassware in selected 

licensed premises, and more frequent late-night 

public transport services. The unique characteristics 

of the partnership, which were not present in any 

other U.K. city partnership during the period of the 

evaluation, were the systematic collection, summary, 

and use of ED data for violence prevention and the 

participation of ED and maxillofacial clinicians in 

statutory partnership meetings. The common attitudes 

of trauma specialists and police managers—both 

responsive, action orientated practitioners—was 

evident in the mature statutory partnership. 

To test the effectiveness of this program on rates of 

police-recorded violence, Cardiff was compared to its 

14 “most similar” cities—identified by the U.K. Home 

Offi ce (the lead government department for police) 

over 84 months. Furthermore, in order to triangulate 

the analysis, violence-related ED attendance rates in 

Cardiff were also compared to those in three “most 

similar” cities over 72 months. 

Information sharing and use was associated with a 

substantial and statistically significant reduction in 

violence-related hospital admissions, from 6.7 to 

5.4 per month per 100,000 population in Cardiff 

compared to an increase from 5.3 to 8.4 per month in 

comparison cities; and substantially fewer woundings 

recorded by the police, from 53.8 to 82 per month 

per 100,000 population in Cardiff compared to an 

increase from 53.9 to 113.8 per month in comparison 

cities (see Figure 1). However, there was a statistically 

significant increase in violence resulting in no injury 

or very minor injury recorded by the police in Cardiff 

relative to comparison cities. 

Conclusions and policy implications 

It was concluded that the Cardiff Violence Prevention 

Programme (now widely known as,“Th e Cardiff 

Model”) is associated with a substantial and sustained 

reduction in violence-related injury, whether recorded 

by health services or by the police. Th is eff ect was 

observed only for violence causing wounding and 

not for more minor violence; the intervention was 

associated with an estimated 42% fewer woundings 

recorded by the police 4 years after implementation. 

While other evaluations of violence prevention 

strategies frequently focus on changes in behavior 

(e.g., student reports of fighting) or impacts within a 

narrow target population, the outcomes reported here 

reflect community-level changes in violent injury. 

This violence prevention model was adopted by 

the U.K. government and is being implemented 

across the country. It is advocated by the World 

Figure 1. Total assault 

rates by month, Cardiff and 

mean of comparison cities 

Source: Florence et al. 2011. Effectiveness of anonymised 

information sharing and use in health service, police, and 

local government partnership for preventing violence 

related injury: experimental study and time series analysis. 

British Medical Journal 342: d3313. 

G&PS | August 2012 
 

 

 

 

 

5 

Health Organization and replication is 

underway in Holland and South Africa as 

well as the United States (in Milwaukee).3 

As a public health strategy the model is 

intended to be dynamic, interdisciplinary, 

and comprehensive (i.e., not dealing only 

with particular violence categories such 

as gang violence). Communities can use 

this partnership approach to identify 

gaps in local prevention strategies and 

to introduce appropriate programs 

and policies based on the best available 

evidence. For example, interventions 

to improve the social cognitive skills of 

youth and family-based programs to 

enhance parental monitoring of youth, as 

well as community level programs such 

as Ceasefire’s efforts to diff use escalating 

community violence and the Boys and 

Girls clubs’ work to provide stable adult 

mentors, could be introduced on this basis. 

These findings suggest that communities 

can achieve substantial reductions in the 

public health burden of violence through 

organized data-driven partnerships 

between health, law enforcement agencies, 

and local government. Furthermore, since 

police ascertainment of violence that 

results in injury is limited in all western 

countries where data matching studies 

and national crime surveys have been 

carried out,2

 and police ascertainment 

is even lower in low and middle income 

countries, it is likely that the principal 

conclusion of this study may well be 

generalizable globally. 

Replication studies and wider 

implementation in the United States 

pose particular challenges, which 

include fragmentation of emergency 

services compared to the U.K. where 

cities the size of Cardiff are often 

served by just one ED. This means that 

the different ED catchment areas in a 

U.S. city would need to be taken into 

account and information relevant to 

targeting of violence locations dealt with 

cumulatively. However, there may also 

be advantages in terms, for example, of 

the ease with which ED software can be 

adjusted to capture the key information 

fields compared to the challenges of 

adjusting comparatively monolithic 

national systems in the U.K. But the 

most important potential benefit in a 

U.S. context is the prevention of fatal 

and very serious violence, which is much 

more prevalent in the United States than 

it is in the U.K. 

This summary is based on: 

Florence, C., J. Shepherd, I. Brennan, 

and T. Simon. 2011. Eff ectiveness of 

anonymised information sharing and 

use in health service, police, and local 

government partnership for preventing 

violence related injury: experimental study 

and time series analysis. British Medical 

Journal 342: d3313. ■

Access the full report at: www.bmj.com/ 

content/342/bmj.d3313 

Notes

1. Farrington D., P.A. Langan, and M. Tonry. 2004. 

Cross-National Studies in Crime and Justice. 

Washington D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, 

Bureau of Justice Statistics. 

2. World Health Organization. 2004. Preventing 

Violence: A Guide to Implementing the 

Recommendations of the World Report on Violence 

and Health. Geneva: World Health Organization. 

3. Braga A.A. 2007. The effects of Hot Spots Policing 

on Crime. Campbell Systematic Reviews. 1–36. 

4. Warburton A.L., and J.P. Shepherd. 2006. Tackling 

alcohol related violence in city centres: effect of 

emergency medicine and police intervention. 

Emergency Medicine Journal 23:12–17. 

5. Goodwin V.,	 and J.P. Shepherd. 2000. The 

development of an assault patient questionnaire 

to allow accident and emergency departments to 

contribute to Crime and Disorder Act local crime 

audits. Emergency Medicine Journal 17:196–98. 

Using Public Health Strategies to Reduce Violence in “Hot Spots” in
 

East Palo Alto, California
 

Sarah Lawrence Chief Ronald Davis Brad Jacobson 

Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Law and Social Policy East Palo Alto Police Department San Mateo County Health System 

University of California, Berkeley School of Law 

Introduction 

E

vidence of the relationship between 

geography and public health 

continues to grow. Urban areas of 

concentrated, chronic disease and high 

mortality rates are often the same areas 

where residents live in environments 

with extremely high levels of crime 

and violence. Despite this evidence, the 

number of partnerships between the law 

enforcement community and the public 

health community to jointly address 

the global and vitally important issues 

of public health and public safety is 

limited. The East Palo Alto (EPA) Police 

Department is working in partnership with 

the San Mateo County Health System, the 

Office of Community Oriented Policing 

Services (COPS Offi ce), The Center for 

Court Innovation, and Th e California 

Endowment to explore new and creative 

strategies to reduce crime and violence in 

targeted neighborhoods while improving 

the health of those communities through 

partnerships with local health experts and 

service providers. 

The City of East Palo Alto in San Mateo 

County, California, is a small, diverse 

community of approximately 30,000 

residents with a serious violence problem. 

In 2010, EPA’s violent crime rate was 

nearly 80% higher than the state of 
 

 

 

G&PS | August 2012 

6 

California overall, at 790 per 100,000 compared to the 

state average of 441 per 100,000.1 The City of East 

Palo Alto also has serious public health challenges. 

Preliminary analysis suggests that health disparities 

between the residents of the City of East Palo Alto 

and the rest of San Mateo County exist along a 

variety of metrics. For example, rates of bacterial 

sexually transmitted diseases are twice as high in 

East Palo Alto compared to the rest of the County.2 

These health challenges do not apply to adults only, 

but children as well. An example of this is that a 

significantly lower percent of 5th graders in EPA pass 

all of the Physical Fitness Standards compared to the 

County average. 

The intersection of these significant community 

challenges is the genesis behind a project being led 

by the EPA PD and supported by Th e California 

Endowment, which is employing GIS technology 

and community-based strategies to identify 

and address health and violence problems. Th e 

initiative is being used as an opportunity to employ 

a place-based technology, which was designed as 

a law enforcement rapid response tool, in health 

promotion and crime prevention. 

Gunshot Location and Detection System 

Police departments across the country are trying to do 

more with fewer resources and are spending millions 

of dollars—much of it federal funding—to purchase 

various technologies that hold the promise of enhancing 

job quality and improving efficiency. Over the last 

decade, an increasing number of police departments 

have introduced gunshot location and detection systems 

(GLDS) to identify and convey the location of a 

gunshot through acoustic sensors, which are installed 

at approximately 20 sensors per square mile. When a 

gunshot or another loud sound occurs within a coverage 

area, the system detects, locates, identifies, and classifi es 

the sound in just a few seconds. Information collected 

by the GLDS provides the police department with a 

more comprehensive understanding of the volume and 

nature of shootings and includes an audio recording of 

the event, the type of event (e.g., gunshot, firecracker, 

or another loud sound), the caliber of the weapon, 

the number of rounds fired, the precise location 

of the incident, and the time and duration of the 

incident. This information is immediately transmitted 

to dispatchers, well before any 911 calls for service are 

received. The City of East Palo Alto deployed such a 

system,“ShotSpotter,” citywide at the beginning of 2009 

and is the first jurisdiction in the United States to have 

total area coverage by this GLDS. 

Building on the well-established research on crime 

“hot spots,” GLDS can be viewed as a logical direction 

in which a technological application further advances 

law enforcement’s utilization of place-based, anticrime strategies. There are many potential benefi ts of 

this relatively new technology, including reductions in 

violent crime and shootings, shorter response times, 

increased clearance rates, and improved investigative 

capabilities, among others. 

The number of shooting incidents detected by the 

acoustic sensors is significantly higher than the 

number of calls for service for gunshots. The East Palo 

Alto Police Department averaged 500 dispatched calls 

for service involving a firearm before the system was 

activated and the system records approximately 1,500 

activations per year.3 

To date, the ShotSpotter technology has primarily 

been used as a rapid response tool in the cities that 

have purchased and deployed the technology. As 

described below, the East Palo Alto project is using 

the technology as part of a place-based strategy and as 

a key tool for problem solving and crime prevention 

efforts above and beyond rapid response eff orts. 

Project Overview 

The project is using a combination of community 

partnerships, technology, spatial analysis, and 

problem-solving strategies to address some of the 

violence and health challenges facing the City. 

Identify Shooting Hot Spots. The police department, 

San Mateo County Health System, and academic 

partners from the Warren Institute on Law and Social 

Policy at the Berkeley Law School have mapped nearly 

3 years of shooting data from ShotSpotter system 

activations for the purpose of identifying shooting 

“hot spots.” Figure 1 on page 7 maps over 5,200 

shooting incidents as detected by the ShotSpotter 

system between January 2009, when the system was 

first launched citywide, and October 2011. East 

Palo Alto is approximately 2.5 square miles and this 

map suggests that there are few places within the 

City’s borders where shootings do not occur. Using 

ESRI ArcView, the ShotSpotter data were used to 

statistically identify the census blocks that comprise 

the two “hottest” gunshot hot spots, which will then 

help guide the deployment of police department and 

health resources for this project.4

 Preliminary results 

indicate that the two hot spots are located in police 

beats 2 and 3 (see Figure 2 on page 7). 
 

 

 

 

Figure 1. Shooting Incidents from ShotSpotter in East Palo Alto, January 2009 to October 2011 

Source: Google Earth mapping of ShotSpotter activation data.
 

Figure 2. Gunshot Hot Spots in East Palo Alto Police Beats 2 and 3 

Source: ShotSpotter activation data from East Palo Alto Police 

Department and San Mateo County GIS. 

Incorporate Public Health Data. In addition to 

shooting data, health-related metrics will be collected, 

analyzed, and mapped with a focus on comparisons 

between the crime hot spots, FIT zones (see below), 

City, and County overall. Potential metrics include 

chronic disease-related deaths, heart disease, child 

physical fitness levels, obesity rates, mortality rates, 

sexually transmitted diseases, and hospitalizations. 

Establish and Strengthen Partnerships. Engaging a 

diverse set of local partners is a cornerstone of this 

initiative. The City of East Palo Alto has a history 

of community partnerships and cross-agency 

collaboration. This initiative is building on some 

existing relationships but also providing an opportunity 

for collaboration among groups that have not done so 

in the past. In addition to law enforcement and county 

public health experts, other project partners will include 

residents, local health services providers, community 

advocates, schools, behavioral health, and city planning. 

To oversee the overall direction of the project and 

monitor progress, a multi-disciplinary Advisory 

Committee is being established that will include 

representatives from these and other groups. 

Identify Fitness Improvement Training (FIT) Zones. 

Based on a combined assessment of shooting hot 

spots and neighborhood-based needs and resources, 

Fitness Improvement Training (FIT) Zones within 

the designated hot spots will be identified and these 

smaller geographic areas will be the targets of the 

intervention. Both law enforcement activities and 

health-related activities will be defined and the specifi c 

activities will be determined as the project progresses. 

Law Enforcement Activities in the FIT Zones. Th e 

police department believes that as residents increase 

outdoor activities on the streets and in the parks, 

they will improve their health and regain control 

and ownership of their neighborhoods. Th e intent 

is that the officers’ presence and participation will 

allow neighbors to exercise with a stronger sense of 

security and become acquainted with these police 

officers. A variety of police department activities in 

the FIT Zones will be implemented as the project 

progresses. One area of focus will be activities in 

which police officers help facilitate increased outdoor 

activity of the residents who live within the identifi ed 

areas. For example, police officers will be assigned to 

the FIT Zones and participate in physical activities 

such as walking, jogging, and bike riding with the 

residents. The police department will assess options for 

temporary street closures with police offi cer presence 

that will provide more outdoor safe space for healthy 

7 
 

 

G&PS | August 2012 

8 

activity. In addition, police will work with local health 

service providers to identify ways in which the police 

can be involved in facilitating increased access to 

health services and health and fi tness education. 

Health-Related Activities in the FIT Zones. Specifi c 

health-related activities in the FIT Zones will also be 

further developed and refined as the project progresses. 

There will be increased coordination of health services 

in the targeted geographic areas. The local services 

provider based in East Palo Alto will be a key partner 

in designing and delivering public health interventions 

in the identified sites. Health Service Delivery Teams 

will be deployed in the designated FIT Zones to 

provide services to residents that typically have limited 

access to such services. Health Educators and Health 

Navigators, who are local residents and community 

advocates working in the community, will work to 

connect residents with health services and increase 

awareness and education related to health and fi tness. 

Integrate Into Overall Crime Reduction Strategies. 

Activities from this project are well matched with 

hot spot policing, problem-oriented policing, and 

community policing strategies and will be deployed 

in the targeted areas as part of the City’s overall 

crime reduction strategy. Public health strategies may 

also be incorporated into off ender-based strategies. 

For example, as part of East Palo Alto’s Operation 

Ceasefire “call-ins” and home visits within the FIT 

Zones, the police may connect individuals with 

appropriate medical and dental services. Public health 

metrics may be incorporated into CompStat and other 

data-driven crime reduction eff orts. 

Monitoring and Evaluation. With a research partner 

as part of the core project team, a key component of 

this initiative is on-going monitoring and evaluation 

activities that will include an analysis of changes in 

crime and shootings in the identified hot spots before, 

during, and after the project is implemented; a survey 

of residents in the targeted hot spots to assess their 

experiences with violence and changes in fear of 

violence, levels of physical activity, and perceptions 

of police; and interviews and focus groups with local 

stakeholders including residents, community leaders, 

and health service providers. 

Outcomes 

The primary, desired outcome of this initiative is twofold: to improve public safety in areas experiencing 

high levels of crime and violence and to improve the 

health of residents living in those areas. Th rough the 

efforts of this initiative and the partnerships upon 

which it is built, there is hope for additional, positive 

outcomes. Improvements in police and community 

relations and increases in police legitimacy in the eyes 

of the residents in the targeted areas are anticipated. 

The hope is that the work being done under this 

nascent initiative can be leveraged into a larger eff ort 

that will have longer-term, positive outcomes such 

as physical improvements to the built environment, 

sustained reductions in crime and violence, sustained 

improvements in healthy behavior, and changes in 

“community norms” around health and healthy 

behavior. Ultimately, the hope is that this GIS-based 

technology can be used as a crime prevention and 

problem-solving tool and can assist with longer-term, 

environmental and social changes that will make East 

Palo Alto a healthier and safer community in which to 

live and work. ■

Notes

1.	 FBI Uniform Crime Report Program, Crime in the United States, 

2010. www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/ 

crime-in-the-u.s.-2010 

2. San Mateo County Communicable Disease Reports. www. 

smhealth.org/sites/default/files/docs/PHS/STD_2010_ 

Annual_Report.pdf 

3.	 San Mateo County Public Safety Communications Division and 

East Palo Alto Police Department. 

4.	 Geospatial statistics used: standard distance area and the GetisOrd Gi*. 
 

9 

Comprehensive Community Based Information System to Reduce Youth 

and Gang Violence in Los Angeles County and Beyond 

Lieutenant Cheryl Newman-Tarwater 

CBIS Manager, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department 

Detective Ray Bercini 

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department 

T

he Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s 

Department (LASD) initiated the 

Community Based Information 

System (CBIS), an extensive and expanding 

information management system with mapping capabilities, in July 2009. CBIS was 

conceived in response to A Call to Action: 

A Case for a Comprehensive Solution to LA’s 

Gang Violence Epidemic, a 2007 report that 

squarely identified a “long-term epidemic of 

youth gang homicide and violence,” noting 

that nearly 75% of youth gang homicides 

in the state of California had occurred in 

Los Angeles County.1 Cast in the context 

of an epidemic, this problem called for a 

comprehensive response that went beyond 

traditional enforcement approaches by 

deliberately incorporating prevention and 

intervention approaches. The report noted 

gang violence must not only be addressed as 

a justice issue but also must be viewed more 

broadly as a public health problem. 

The strategies must focus on the 

ecology of neighborhood violence using 

the public health and healing, child 

development, job development and 

community development models that 

address the major underlying drivers 

of violence and gang proliferation. In 

order to achieve this, the City must 

develop comprehensive, coordinated, 

multi-jurisdictional, schools-centered, 

neighborhood-based saturation strategies 

that do not leave children to fend for 

themselves on the streets. Th ese strategies 

must be linked to problem-solving 

community policing that is designed 

to dovetail with neighborhood eff orts. 

Comprehensive strategies have to be 

carefully and skillfully implemented to 

have any chance of avoiding chaos and 

achieving measurable reductions in gang 

activity and violence.

2 

Speaking to the value of CBIS to the 

Sheriff ’s Department, Sheriff Lee Baca 

asserted,“We can provide the community 

with tangible solutions to their problems 

and create a cultural shift within law 

enforcement.”3 

CBIS Overview 

CBIS is a web-based, password protected 

portal that is accessible only to law 

enforcement and data-sharing partners 

within the justice community. In contrast 

to reactive law enforcement technological 

systems that primarily are used to track 

criminals or analyze crime, the purpose of 

this first-of-its-kind system is to allow law 

enforcement agencies to better understand 

the socio-economic dynamics that underlie 

troubled neighborhoods. In addition, 

the system allows agencies to identify 

community prevention and intervention 

services to which gang-involved and 

at-risk youth can be referred. CBIS also 

is designed to enhance and expand data 

available for analysis. Crime analysts from 

across the county can gain access to a 

plethora of additional data sets to review 

and create integrated views of this data 

on a digital map. By specifi cally assessing 

how community dynamics change, crime 

analysts can use CBIS to enhance their 

predictive policing capabilities. 

The underlying CBIS database is 

comprehensive with respect to the data it 

allows end users to access and integrate. 

CBIS combines crime, demographics, 

social service referrals, school dynamics, 

and other relevant data. It has become an 

influential information-led policing tool 

that empowers local law enforcement 

agencies in making operational decisions 

and improving services. 

CBIS has been used to address a wide 

range of gang- and youth-violence related 

solutions, ranging from prevention, intervention, enforcement, and problem solving. 

Its utility extends beyond the issue of addressing gang crime. Its purposes as originally envisioned are specified as follows: 

 Enhance understanding of the 

community, its resources, and crime 

trends through GIS mapping 

 Strengthen prevention and 

intervention service referral through 

easy law enforcement access to 

local business and service provider 

resources 

 Facilitate law enforcement 

partnerships across jurisdictions and 

with community stakeholders 

 Expand knowledge about local, 

statewide, national, and transnational 

gang trends and research through the 

CBIS Resource Library 

CBIS Components 

CBIS is divided into four functional 

sections: (1) service referral, (2) mapping, 

(3) charting communities, and (4) resource 

library. As part of the resource library, 

CBIS includes one of the largest gangrelated open-source intelligence document 

libraries in the nation. 

The GIS capabilities of CBIS allow users 

to assess community capacity and resource 

data and to assess crime trends. Layers 

available for mapping include community 

and school demographics, crossjurisdictional crime data, parole data, as 

well as Section 8 and public housing data. 

Capitalizing on the versatility of GIS, 

other layers are continually being added. 
 

 

G&PS | August 2012 

10 

Figure 1. CBIS “Find a 

Service” Interface 

Figure 2. Map of 

Social Service Relative 

to Law Enforcement 

Agency (boundaries 

shaded) 

Figure 3. Map of 

Crimes Relative to Law 

Enforcement Agency 

(boundaries shaded) 

Figure 4. Map of 

Alcohol Outlets 

The GIS service referral and mapping capabilities of CBIS have 

proven to be a big draw to users from law enforcement agencies. 

A series of screenshots captured from CBIS illustrate just a small 

portion of the functionality that registered users can access. Th e 

“Find a Service” interface, with an embedded map showing the 

location of services, is illustrated in Figure 1. The mapping capacities 

of CBIS are versatile and allow users to show social service 

resources relative to law enforcement jurisdictional boundaries 

(Figure 2), to depict crime patterns across jurisdictions (Figure 3), 

and to examine locations of alcohol outlets (Figure 4). 

CBIS in Action 

The comprehensiveness of CBIS as a tool for law enforcement is 

reflected in the diversity of ways that it has been used by partner law 

enforcement agencies for practical solutions and problem solving. 

 The mapping capabilities have been used to inform decisions 

about the issuance and denial of Alcohol Beverage Control 

(ABC) licenses. 

 The service referral component has been used to refer gang 

members to job training programs and for referring at-risk 

and underserved youth to needed social services. 

 The mapping component has been used to solve and clear 

a number of burglary series based on assessments of crossjurisdictional patterns. 

 Deployment decisions have been made based on crime 

patterns, including the strategic placement of bait cars to 

address a surge in auto thefts. 

 Two CBIS law enforcement partnership agencies have used 

the system to help obtain grant funding. 

A tutorial of the CBIS system with practical examples is available a 

www.cbis-training.org/. 

Expanding Partnerships 

To date, CBIS has more than 45 partners across California and the 

nation. It continues to attract interest from local, state, and federal 

level law enforcement agencies. A training module has been developed 

with the support of The California Endowment, and LASD is in the 

process of seeking California-POST certification for CBIS. Readers 

interested in learning more about the system may contact Lieutenant 

Cheryl Newman-Tarwater of the Los Angeles Sheriff ’s Department 

at canewman@lasd.org. More information about this innovative tool 

can be obtained from the CBIS factsheet.4 ■

Notes

1. This report is available at www.advanceproj.com/index.php?q=/c/resource/sc/up_call_to_action 

2. This comment is from page 2 of the Executive Summary available from the link in the previous endnote. 

3. http://sheriff.lacounty.gov/wps/portal/lasd/!ut/p/c4/04_SB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xBz9CP0os3hLAwMDd3-nYCN3M19LA0_nE 

DPvMJMAQ39jA_2CbEdFAFVdgp4!/?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/wps/wcm/connect/lasd+content/lasd+site/home/ 

lasd+family/lasd+relevant+links/cbis 

4. www.calgrip.ca.gov/documents/CBIS_Fact_Sheet_PDF.pdf 
 

 

 

What Can We Learn from Public Health? – An Example of Sharing Law
 

Enforcement Spatial Data with Community Partners
 

Nicole Robinson 

MSW/MPH, Associate Researcher 

Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission, 

University of Wisconsin Madison School of Medicine, 

and Public Health’s Center for Urban Population Health 

Introduction 

11 

L

aw enforcement agencies have an 

abundance of important data that 

are used to identify and respond 

to a variety of social problems. For their 

own internal purposes, law enforcement 

agencies collect and track information 

about calls for services (both criminal 

and non-criminal), incident reports, 

and arrests. These data are used to 

assess patterns across dimensions such 

as crime types; the dates, times, and 

locations of incidents; victim and suspect 

demographics; environmental factors 

(e.g., poor lighting, vacant properties); and 

types of weapons used. Law enforcement 

agencies monitor—in real time—changes 

in crime trends for their entire jurisdiction 

as well as at the neighborhood and block 

levels. Unfortunately, these data are not 

frequently made available to community 

partners on a regular basis. 

Sharing this information with community 

partners, including other governmental 

agencies such as health departments and 

nonprofit organizations, can not only 

increase the utility of the data, it can also 

help create partnerships to address crime 

and disorder and can be used to improve 

the quality of life for residents, particularly 

in disadvantaged urban communities. 

Monthly and annual reports may be 

available on the police agency’s website 

but such reports usually lack suffi cient 

detail to address the specific concerns of 

community partners and most cannot be 

merged easily with existing organizational 

datasets. Some community partners 

have established relationships with a 

police agency and may be able to request 

specific information. However, most 

community organizations do not have 

such relationships with law enforcement, 

and they may find it hard to navigate the 

department bureaucracy. Police agencies 

can quickly become inundated with 

individual requests from community 

groups and may not have suffi cient 

resources to meet demands. In short, 

community organizations often cannot 

rely on having their specific data requests 

met consistently or in a timely manner. 

The Milwaukee Approach 

The Milwaukee Homicide Review 

Commission (MHRC)1 fills the police– 

community information gap by collecting, 

analyzing, and disseminating law 

enforcement data to community partners— 

as well as to other municipal agencies and 

members of the criminal justice system— 

for strategic problem identifi cation and 

response. MHRC is an action-oriented 

research program aimed at reducing the 

number of homicides and other violent 

crimes using a blend of public health and 

criminal justice philosophies and strategies. 

Started in 2005, it is physically located 

within the Milwaukee Police Department 

and assists the entire criminal justice 

sector, as well as community partners, with 

accessing and interpreting law enforcement 

data for the purpose of identifying and 

responding to community problems, 

monitoring changes in neighborhood-level 

crime trends, and merging law enforcement 

data with community sector data for the 

purpose of evaluation. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

G&PS | August 2012 

MHRC is rather unique. Although it relies heavily on 

criminal justice sector data, it approaches its mission 

from a public health perspective. One distinguishing 

characteristic of the public health perspective is that it 

is principally proactive. Public health practitioners aim 

to prevent disease and promote the health of entire 

communities. Public health is especially concerned 

with the social and behavioral factors related to health 

and prioritizes strategies that strengthen community 

resiliency by building support systems that directly 

involve community residents. This includes direct 

engagement of community members as part of the 

planning and problem-solving process. 

Drug dealing, prostitution, shootings, and homicides 

are public health issues as well as criminal justice 

issues. Although public health and criminal justice 

conceptual perspectives of these problems are often 

divergent there are clear parallels—particularly when 

the focus is on problem solving rather than traditional 

reactive enforcement responses. With its emphasis 

on holistic solutions involving partnerships with the 

community, the public health approach is distinct from 

historically reactive law enforcement approaches, yet it 

aligns closely with community-oriented and problemsolving approaches to policing. In Milwaukee, the multidisciplinary approach has resulted in clear benefi ts. 

Block Watch Club Example 

Law enforcement data can be used to evaluate the 

effectiveness of non-law enforcement initiatives. A 

recent MHRC project to measure the reach and 

effectiveness of resident-led block clubs demonstrates 

the importance of information sharing (particularly 

spatial data) with community partners and the 

importance of law enforcement data in the evaluation 

of community initiated efforts. MHRC’s work 

with a nonprofit organization is just one example 

of a multidisciplinary—public health and criminal 

justice—approach to addressing social problems. Th e 

example illustrates how law enforcement data can 

augment the evaluation of community eff orts because 

the data is more comprehensive and includes detailed 

individual-level and neighborhood-level information 

on larger geographic areas; most community partners 

have data on a limited number of individuals such as 

clients served or households surveyed. 

Safe & Sound is a nonprofit organization in 

Milwaukee. Its mission is to reduce violent crime 

by blending neighborhood organizing, youth 

development, and law enforcement strategies.2 

Safe & Sound organizers over the years have helped 

to establish, sustain, and (in some instances) staff 

over 160 volunteer block watch clubs3

 that respond 

to neighborhood issues, including standard crime 

problems and community capacity building such as 

after-school activities for youth and mentoring. Th ese 

block clubs lead youth violence prevention activities, 

neighborhood clean ups, and planting of community 

gardens. Some are directly involved in re-entry of 

formerly incarcerated persons. 

In the spring of 2011, Safe & Sound sought to develop 

a profile of each block club that would answer a variety 

of key evaluation questions. When was the club 

established and why? How many active volunteers 

did the club have? How often did they work with the 

police? How many and which neighborhoods did the 

club cover? Are there areas that need a club? Are there 

opportunities to link clubs together? Which violent 

crimes did the club target and how? Th is information 

would be used to identify the capacity building needs 

of block clubs in the city, determine potential service 

gaps, and assess each club’s impact on local crime rates. 

Methodology 

With the assistance of MHRC, Safe & Sound’s 

annual community perception survey was revised to 

collect the data that would answer the key evaluation 

questions. This survey was administered over the 

phone by Safe & Sound staff from March to April 

2011. By the April deadline, 46 block club captains 

had completed the survey. In particular, participants 

were asked to indicate their club’s geographic 

boundaries using streets and addresses. 

MHRC staff then compiled Part I violent crime data 

from the Milwaukee Police Department for the years 

2007–2010. Block club boundaries and crime incident 

locations were geocoded in ArcGIS. Population 

estimates were taken from the U.S. 2010 census. Th e 

following calculations were used and depicted in a 

series of thematic maps: 

 Crime Rates: (number of crimes in a year/2010 

population) 

 Comparison Area: all blocks with center inside 

1/5 mile buffer surrounding the Block Watch 

Club area 

 Percent Change: [(second year)-(fi rst year)/fi rst 

year]*100 

 Relative Change: (percent change between two 

years in comparison area) – (percent change 

between two years in block club area) 

12 
 

 

 

13 

Results 

MHRC, along with graduate-level interns from the 

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s School of 

Architecture and Urban Planning, prepared several 

maps and spatial analyses illustrating the results. 

The most basic map documented the location and 

boundary of each block club and plotted the clubs 

where boundary information was unavailable. See 

Figure 1. 

To demonstrate the reach of a club, a similar map was 

created to document the number of people residing 

within a quarter mile and a half-mile of the club. Th e 

findings were very interesting, with 146,388 residents 

living within a quarter mile of a club, and 232,029 

residents living within a half-mile of a known block 

club. The city has just under 600,000 residents, 

which means that roughly 40% of the population 

lives near a block club. See Figure 2 on page 13. 

Next, a map documenting the crime rate normalized 

by population size was created. The map depicts 

higher and lower crime areas and was used to identify 

high crime areas where no known block club existed. 

An immediate follow-up in response to this map 

occurred when one organizer observed that there 

were no block clubs in her assigned neighborhood, 

an area designated as a “high” crime rate area. Th e 

organizer is working with residents to start a club 

focused on crime and violence prevention using 

community organizing strategies. See Figure 3 on 

page 14. 

Three additional maps were created that compared 

the block club boundary with the crime rates in the 

area immediately surrounding the block watch club. That is, a half-mile buffer was created around the block club to serve as the control 

area. The three maps—each comparing the block club territory to the 1⁄2-mile buffer—depict total percent and relative changes in total 

crime rates, crimes against people, and crimes against property. The findings were promising; crime decreased in several block club areas 

between 3%–33%. Without law enforcement data, this analysis would not have been possible. Figure 4 on page 14 illustrates the map for 

total crime rate change between 2007 and 2010 in Milwaukee Safe & Sound Block Watches. Similar maps have been produced to depict 

crime rate changes for crimes against people, and crimes against property. 

Safe & Sound has since developed relationships with 32 additional block watch clubs and plans to expand its capacity by building 

additional services for these groups. The organization also plans to administer an updated survey to the remaining groups in 2012. 

With additional information, the Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission will conduct an analysis of each block club based on 

their specific demographic profile (e.g., the assessment will control for block watches that are active only during certain months, with 

a subset of populations, or on specific problems). 

Figure 1. Milwaukee Safe and Sound Block Watch Locations 2011 

Source: Milwaukee COMPASS. U.S. Census. 2010. 

© Cartography by Stephen Hudak 
G&PS | August 2012

14

Figure 2. Total 

Population in Block 

Watch Buffer Areas

Source: Milwaukee COMPASS. U.S. Census. 2010. 

© Cartography by Stephen Hudak

In a related project, MHRC is mapping service 

drought areas—areas the police have identifi ed 

as needing community service providers but 

where they have been unable to identify community organizations that are physically located in 

the area or that provide services to it. 

Recommendations 

Th e information needs of the community are 

greater now than ever before and law enforcement agencies should consider deeper partnerships to expand the dissemination and use of 

law enforcement data by the community it 

serves. Every governmental agency and nonprofi t organization must demonstrate severity of 

need (i.e., that a problem exists and is measurable, that the size or scope of the problem is 

great and impacts the sustained health and wellbeing of a community) to validate their existence 

and in the most tangible way, when requesting 

funds and advocating for change. 

More and more entities are required to 

demonstrate measurable changes in the 

conditions or behaviors of the individuals, issue 

areas, and/or communities they serve. What can 

be learned from the fi eld of public health is that 

a variety of data sources are needed to identify 

a problem, develop a deeper understanding 

of the problem, and assess the results of a 

program or initiative designed to respond to 

the problem. Law enforcement agencies should heed this and develop formal and expanded mechanisms to share 

data with community partners that move beyond annual reports and aggregated data that is not electronic, not 

searchable, and does not support analysis at smaller geographic units of analysis. Police departments (or their 

research partners) have an opportunity to provide critical and timely evaluation and research assistance to their 

community partners. ■

Notes

1. To learn more about the Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission visit www.milwaukee.gov/hrc.

2. To learn more about Safe & Sound visit www.safesound.org/. 

3. A block club is three or more neighbors who communicate regularly to keep a ‘watch’ over criminal, nuisance, and blight issues that can 

destroy neighborhood safety and quality of life. Block clubs are usually informal and can focus on addressing long-term and serious 

criminal issues.
15

Figure 3. Milwaukee Safe and Sound Block Watches and Average Crime 

Rate 2007 01502010

Source: Milwaukee COMPASS. U.S. Census. 2010. 

Milwaukee Safe and Sound Block Watches.

© Cartography by Stephen Hudak

Figure 4. Relative Total Crime Rate Change in Milwaukee Safe and Sound Block 

Watches 2007–2010

© Cartography by Stephen Hudak

Source: Milwaukee COMPASS. U.S. Census. 2010. 

Share your agency’s GIS eff orts and research stories by 

e-mailing Jessica Mansourian at jessica.mansourian@usdoj.gov

Subscribe free-of-charge today by visiting 

www.cops.usdoj.gov/Default.asp?Item=2567

G&PS is published by the Offi ce of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Offi ce)

Feature in the next issue of
G&PS | August 2012

16

Deadly Tornadoes Highlight 

City’s Need for Update of GIS

Th e importance of advanced GIS data in relation 

to emergency response was realized by the public 

safety offi ce of the City of Dunn, North Carolina, 

after deadly tornadoes passed through the city and 

outlying areas. Communication Director Charlie 

Callahan commented on working with Geographic 

Technologies Group (GTG) on updating the ESN 

layer and address points so that they will have 

up-to-date data for future emergencies, noting that 

GTG will provide the city with the technological 

advancement needed to adequately protect the City 

of Dunn and its residents. ■

IDV Solution’s New 

Application Enhances Data 

Sharing Nationwide 

Public safety will be greatly enhanced after it was 

revealed that a Visual Fusion application by IDV 

Solutions will become a part of the Unifi ed Incident 

Command and Decision Support (UICDS) 

program. Th e application, Blue Water Area 

Resilient, enables diff erent agencies to instantly 

share data in the event of emergency situations, 

such as natural disasters and terrorist attacks. Th is 

will aff ect the way that information is disseminated 

nationwide, from state and local to federal 

emergency response and security agencies. ■

Users Get Instant Access 

to Global Disease Trends 

through GIS Technologies 

and Mapping Apps

An emerging tool for tracking infectious disease 

and illness outbreaks globally are new diseasemapping applications. Th ese applications, 

advanced by geographic information systems (GIS) 

technologies, can be used by health organizations, 

federal agencies, and individuals, to monitor and 

research diff erent diseases instantly. An example of 

this technology at work is a mobile app engineered 

by epidemiologists and software specialists at 

Children’s Hospital Boston, called ‘Outbreaks Near 

Me,’ which provides free instant access to users on 

global trends on diseases. ■

SOUTHCOM Tracking 

Crime through Geospatial 

Technology

U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) is 

using geospatial technology to aid in tracking 

international crime, including drug traffi cking, 

in South and Central America. Trust across 

stakeholders is essential for the crime mapping 

technology to work, which is gained by ensuring 

there is information sharing with counterparts in 

the region. ■

NEWS BRIEFS
17

Crime Mapping App 

by BAIR Inc. to Track 

Crimes in User Vicinity

A new crime mapping application has 

been released by BAIR Analytics Inc., 

called RAIDS Online Mobile. Th is 

innovative app is the fi rst of its kind to 

use the user’s location to provide them 

with instant data on criminal activity in 

their vicinity. According to BAIR Inc.’s 

founder Sean Bair, the app was meant 

to assist law enforcement in quickly 

disseminating information to the public 

and nearby agencies, as well as improving 

communication with the citizens in their 

respective communities. Th is app will aid 

the general public in being aware of their 

surroundings, even while traveling, and is 

free on Apple products, such as iPhones 

and iPads. ■

Charlotte Fire 

Department Deploys 

GIS-Based COP

Public Safety at the Charlotte Fire 

Department (CFD) has been greatly 

enhanced through the new GIS-based 

Common Operating Picture (COP). Th is 

system employs the Charlotte Operations 

Based Response Analysis (COBRA) to 

provide close to real-time data on live 

events, sending all kinds of information 

on specifi c developments at a crime 

scene to the personnel at the CharlotteMecklenburg Emergency Management 

Offi ce (CMEMO). Th e COBRA system 

also provides information regarding 

medical events, not just crime-related 

calls, to give emergency management 

offi cials the data to be aware of during 

on-the-scene development, as well as 

the ability to analyze information to 

improve procedures for future emergency 

situations. ■

Law Enforcement Use 

New Tagging System to 

Track Evidence

Patrol offi cers recently began employing 

a GPS system that was designed to allow 

law enforcement to “tag” a location through 

a satellite GPS system installed in police 

vehicles. Th is enables offi cers to keep track 

of specifi c locations where suspects may 

have disposed of critical evidence while 

being chased. Th is tool proved highly 

eff ective in a recent case where the law 

enforcement offi cer was able to save the 

coordinates for a location where evidence 

was tossed before continuing on to apprehend the suspect. Later, using the coordinates from the GeoTag system, the offi cer 

was able to recover the evidence, whereas 

in many situations it would have been diffi cult to fi nd a small piece of evidence over 

a large geographic location. ■

Juvenile Crime 

Mapping System 

Success through 

Collaboration

Th e Bradley County Sheriff ’s Offi ce has 

developed a new way to keep track of 

juvenile off enders through crime mapping 

technology. Even with the most advanced 

technology in place, the mapping system 

is mainly successful in tracking data such 

as the address of the off ender for the past 

decade due to the cooperation between 

diff erent partners—from social welfare 

programs to the Bradley County Juvenile 

Court system. It also serves to keep law 

enforcement agencies, such as the Cleveland Police Department, as well as other 

community partners, well informed. ■

New Health Mapping 

Website

Graham Dodge, who spent time as a 

crime mapper for the U.S. Census Bureau, 

has helped develop a new website that 

provides its visitors with a map designed 

to track diff erent illnesses around the 

world. Operating at almost real-time 

speed, SickWeather monitors cities on 

a global scale for disease and sicknesses, 

giving users the ability to view areas 

in detail, such as neighborhoods, for 

outbreaks. ■
G&PS | August 2012

18

© Rob Wilson / Shutterstock

Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies 

(ASCIA) Spring 2012 Conference 

Hyatt Place Madison/Downtown – Madison, WI

5/13/2012 – 5/16/2012 

http://ascia.org/conference_detail.php?detail=4

IACA Professional Training Series – Crime Analysis 

with Crime Mapping 

Dallas, TX

5/17/2012 – 7/23/2012

www.iaca.net/Training.asp?TID=720 

IACP 36th Annual Law Enforcement Information 

Management Conference and Technology Expo

Indianapolis, IN

5/21/2012 – 5/23/2012

www.theiacp.org/Technology/LEIMSection/

LEIM2012Conference/tabid/977/Default.aspx

2012 Omega User Conference 

(6th training conference)

Paradise Point Resort

San Diego, CA

5/23/2012 – 5/25/2012

www.theomegagroup.com/company/omega_

conference.htmlasp

Recent Events

Mid America GIS Consortium MAGIC 2012 

Symposium 

Kansas City, MO

4/22/2012 – 4/26/2012

www.magicgis.org/magic/symposiums/2012/index.

cfm

Geo Spatial World Forum – “Geospatial Industry and 

World Economy”

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

4/23/2012 – 4/27/2012

www.geospatialworldforum.org/ 

International Association of Law Enforcement 

Intelligence Analysts (IALEIA) Conference 

Loews Coronado Bay – San Diego, CA

4/30/2012 – 5/04/2012

www.ialeia.org/conference

Risk Terrain Modeling for Spatial Risk Assessment 

Webinar Workshop

Rutgers Center on Public Security

5/01/2012 – 6/19/2012

www.rutgerscps.org/rtm/webinar.html
COPS Editorial Staff 

Nicole Scalisi

Chief Editor and Senior Social Science Analyst

Offi ce of Community Oriented Policing Services

John Markovic

Senior Social Science Analyst

Offi ce of Community Oriented Policing Services

Jessica Mansourian

Program Analyst

Offi ce of Community Oriented Policing Services

Marian Haggard

Senior Technical Editor

Offi ce of Community Oriented Policing Services

Nancy Carlsen

Senior Designer

Offi ce of Community Oriented Policing Services

MAPS Editorial Staff 

Joel Hunt

Social Science Analyst 

National Institute of Justice

The opinions, fi ndings, conclusions, or recommendations contained in this publication are those of 

the authors and do not necessarily represent the offi cial position or policies of the U.S. Department 

of Justice. References to specifi c agencies, companies, products, or services should not be 

considered an endorsement by the authors or the U.S. Department of Justice. Rather, the references 

are illustrations to supplement discussion of the issues.

U.S. Department of Justice

Offi ce of Community Oriented Policing Services

145 N St., N.E.

Washington, DC 20530

To obtain details on COPS Offi ce programs, 

call the COPS Offi ce Response Center at 

800.421.6770.

Visit COPS Online at www.cops.usdoj.gov.

Visit NIJ Online at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij.

e05122469