Data-Driven Approach to Crime & Traffic Safety
Data-Driven Approaches to Crime and Traffic Safety (DDACTS) integrates location-based crime and traffic data to establish effective and efficient methods for deploying law enforcement and other resources.
Using mapping to identify areas that have high incidences of crime and crashes, DDACTS uses traffic enforcement strategies that play a dual role in fighting crime and reducing crashes and traffic violations.
Drawing on the deterrent of highly visible traffic enforcement and the knowledge that crime often involves the use of motor vehicles, the goal of DDACTS is to reduce the incidence of crime, crashes, and traffic violations across the country.
DDACTS relies on prompt collection and analysis of crash and crime data to provide actionable reports that inform tactical and strategic decisions of a law enforcement agency. The model responds to the competing demands for police services that law enforcement executives face every day.
DDACTS is endorsed by:
How it Works
The Raytown Police Department has identified two study areas, based on historic crime and traffic crash data for Raytown over a three year period. These areas represent an overall disproportionate volume of crime based on the size and population of the area.
Patrol officers will spend dedicated time conducting high-visibility enforcement in the treatment zones in addition to increasing patrols in these areas when they’re not respond to emergency calls. Their goal is not to write tickets or make arrests (though both will be a byproduct of the increased presence), but rather to prevent crime from happening in the first place. The emphasis is on outcomes (reduced crime and crashes), not outputs (tickets and arrests).
This model does not require additional officers or overtime. Instead, existing resources are used in a more efficient manner.
These two areas were selected based on historical crime, crash, and calls for service data. Both areas have a disproportionate number of crimes, crashes, and calls for service based on the size of the area itself.
How the Basic Traffic Stop Aids Police
Every time a Raytown police officer conducts a traffic stop, it benefits law enforcement in multiple ways:
-
It can change the driver’s tendency to commit whatever violation they were stopped for.
-
It can catch someone wanted for more serious crimes.
-
The officer may gain information about a person or vehicle that may prove useful in future investigations
-
It effects people who witness the stop; passing drivers are less likely to run a light or speed when someone has just been pulled over.
Project Evaluation
Our crime analyst will begin collecting data immediately upon implementation, which will then be used to conduct regular statistical analyses to determine effectiveness. The results of the evaluation may indicate that we need to alter our response.
DDACTS is not a temporary program, it is a long-term change in policing response.
