Case Studies

Solution The Vancouver Police Department built a Consolidated Records and Intelligence Mining Environment (CRIME): a robust data infrastructure that integrates a vast array of collective resources. Leveraging this infrastructure made it possible to develop a number of innovative applications including GeoDash – a Web-based Law Enforcement Dashboard (LED) that expands accessibility to crime data and sophisticated analysis tools across the department. Built on ArcGIS for Server in partnership with Esri Canada, the Web mapping application pulls the latest data from a provincial database on a daily basis. GeoDash's intuitive user interface allows anyone working within the department to perform queries to see what is happening in a specific geographic region at any time. Users are able to view crime by concentration, type and transition, including daily, weekly or monthly crime movement. They can toggle between a street and aerial view and access data layers including schools, transit, day cares, major shopping centres and senior homes. Tools such as buffer and measure allow users to ask questions paramount to prioritizing enforcement activities such as: Where are schools located? What is the proximity of the crime to schools? What is the greatest area of risk? Maps and reports can then be easily generated and printed prior to meetings. Benefits The Vancouver Police Department has created a single, integrated analytical environment to identify crime patterns and trends. Analysts who used to spend a significant amount of time completing non-analytical tasks can now focus on conducting analysis at a much deeper level. Geographic data can be seamlessly integrated with offender data and a myriad of other datasets to identity suspects, predatory behavior, resource inefficiencies and 911 response times. The enterprise infrastructure also makes it possible to proactively plan for major events such as the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics where GIS was used to monitor street closures, ensure public safety at large venue gatherings and police resource deployment. Through GeoDash, GIS mapping and analysis capabilities have been extended to over 2,100 users across the VPD organization. Patrol officers can leverage the app to view recent crime events prior to heading out on their beat. Crime distribution can be mapped in a matter of minutes rather than days or weeks, supporting a quick and targeted approach to crime control. Additionally, products generated from the CRIME system are used to assist municipal partners along with the RCMP, National Weapons Enforcement Support Team and the Criminal Intelligence Service BC (CISBC). Law Enforcement Dashboard empowers proactive crime control and targeted response | Esri Canada 2 Patrol officers can leverage GeoDash to view recent crime events prior to heading out on their beat. Users can view crime by concentration, type and transition, including daily, weekly or monthly crime movement. "Our analysts used to spend a significant portion of their time on non-analytical tasks. Extending access to GIS across our organization means that analysts can now focus on complex crime analysis projects that can truly impact the safety of our community." Ryan Prox Special Constable & Analytic Services Coordinator Vancouver Police Department

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