Revitalizing Proactive Policing in Canada with Location Intelligence

After 21 years of policing and now Esri Canada's Law Enforcement Solutions Manager, I’ve witnessed firsthand how location intelligence is transforming proactive policing across the country. In an era where data is abundant yet often underutilized, Esri’s Geographic Information System (GIS) platform, which includes over 100 pieces of software, offers law enforcement agencies powerful tools to harness data effectively, leading to more informed decision-making and enhanced public and officer safety.

The Role of Location Intelligence in Modern Policing

Location intelligence is the key to turning vast amounts of siloed data into actionable insights. By integrating GIS technology with data analytics, law enforcement agencies can visualize crime patterns, predict future incidents, and optimize resource allocation. This proactive approach marks a significant shift from traditional reactive policing methods, enabling officers to be more strategic and effective in their duties. Crime analysis hot spots can be operationalized into proactive policing occurrences, dispatching an officer based on the day of week, time of day, and proximity to their current location. This same workflow can augment your approach to persistent community complaints, such as drug dealing in a stairwell, people drinking in a park, or repeated stop sign or speeding infractions. Officers can engage in one of these proactive initiatives with the backing of data analytics and/or tracked community complaints, bolstering their articulation in court.

Art of the Possible: Offender Management Solution

Real-Time Data Sharing: Breaking Down Jurisdictional Barriers

One of the most impactful applications of GIS in law enforcement is the creation of detailed crime maps. These maps highlight crime hotspots and trends, helping police departments deploy officers where they are needed most. For example, the integration of historical crime data with real-time incident reports allows for dynamic patrol routes that adapt to current conditions, ensuring that officers are always in the right place at the right time.  

Criminals often exploit jurisdictional boundaries to evade detection, committing crimes in multiple areas to take advantage of the lack of operational data sharing between police agencies. Traditionally, law enforcement has struggled with sharing information effectively across jurisdictions, creating blind spots that criminals can exploit. Esri’s GIS platform is changing that. 

By facilitating real-time data sharing between police agencies, GIS technology ensures that critical information is available to all relevant parties, regardless of jurisdiction. This seamless flow of information breaks down the barriers that criminals have historically used to their advantage. With real-time access to data on criminal activities, officer safety alerts, and ongoing investigations, law enforcement agencies can collaborate more effectively to track and apprehend offenders. 

Success Stories: GIS in Action 

Several law enforcement agencies in Canada have successfully implemented Esri’s GIS platform, demonstrating its transformative potential.  

Of recent note is, the Toronto Police and Durham Regional Police Services collaborative implementation of the Firearm Bail Compliance Dashboard. This live application tracks firearm and gang-related offenders on bail, providing officers with real-time, location-based information. By sharing violent offender data across jurisdictions, this tool enhances situational awareness and assists in unrelated investigations, solving homicides, abductions, robberies, and other violent crimes. This inter-agency program is now expanding to all 58 police agencies in Ontario.

Art of the Possible: Offender Management Mobile Application 

Expanding Inter-Agency Data Sharing

Building on this framework, real-time geospatial data sharing can be applied to various other applications, such as major crimes data, missing persons, human trafficking suspects and hotspot destinations, offender management, and more. Imagine being able to filter a map-based dashboard to show all stranger-related sexual assaults, filtering by description and modus operandi, and comparing the results across multiple police jurisdictions. Another example is during a break-and-enter investigation, officers can see similar incidents with similar descriptions across different agencies or within their own agency’s divisions. One agency may have arrested a suspect, while another still has them as an unknown perpetrator. 

Enhanced Investigations 

Taking this a step further, imagine investigating a robbery carjacking and being able to overlay data on persons on bail, parole, or previously arrested in the vicinity. As highlighted above, the results in Durham and Toronto speak for themselves. Location intelligence reduces information overload on officers and provides them with relevant data for their current location. 

Art of the Possible: Crime 360 

Real-Time Situational Awareness 

By leveraging multiple datasets with location data, officers can receive intuitive information upon dispatch. They can get a comprehensive 360° view of their destination, including images of known offenders, persons to be identified, missing persons, and relevant crimes committed in the area. This equips officers with actionable intelligence before arrival. Furthermore, when we map out all known addresses for these types of occurrences, frontline officers can have these bulletins pushed to the screen of their scout car as they drive by any and all associated addresses, creating real-time situational awareness and proactive policing on a silver platter.  

Art of the Possible: Crime 360 

Community Safety and Well-Being 

Most officers join policing to serve and protect, and to help those in need. Effective policing is about being where the public needs officers most and having the right tools to help, which doesn’t always mean enforcement. 

Today, communities have a wide array of social services available. Police officers often deal with individuals at their lowest points. By equipping officers with location-based data that is directly connected to each social services records management system, they can effectively provide referrals to external agencies, ensuring quality support. 

Imagine a frontline officer on a cold day, flagged down by a man seeking shelter. Using the officer’s geolocation, they can see the nearest shelter with available beds. The man refuses a ride and insists on walking. Using Esri’s platform, the officer reserves a bed, prints a directional map with a QR code, guiding the individual to warmth. Now imagine the opposite scenario: the officer refers the man to the shelter, he walks five blocks in the cold, makes a few wrong turns, finally arrives at the shelter, to discover it’s at capacity. This worsens the potentially already strained relationship between that individual and the police. 

Art of the Possible: Community Safety & Well-Being Solution

Conclusion

Esri’s GIS platform is revolutionizing proactive policing in Canada. By facilitating real-time data sharing, enhancing situational awareness, and supporting community well-being, we are helping law enforcement agencies create safer communities. With location intelligence, the future of policing in Canada is brighter and more effective, one map at a time. Together, we can transform the future of policing in Canada.

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