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Intelligence Led Policing Yardsticks: Prevention, Disruption and Enforcement

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Detective Seals

Congratulations! Your technology is set up, you’ve had your meetings, and your entire department is on the same page with regards to Intelligence Led Policing. This is going to be the next best thing since radios, Tasers, and Velcro duty belts! But alas, I’ve saved the hardest implementation step for the last: putting Intelligence Led Policing into long term action.

At the Heart of the Organization

Intelligence Led Policing is not something that can be tried for a season and then put on the shelf. In this blog series we have discussed how it must be the heart of an organizational-wide approach to policing. Intelligence Led Policing, like most new things to your department, will take an adjustment period for everyone to become comfortable in using it. No more will what I call the “shotgun method” of patrolling be adequate or effective in your department. The “shotgun method” of patrolling consists of driving around in your zone checking your buildings, answering calls, and otherwise seeing if you can drive up on something. No, as you learned, there is a much more effective way to direct your patrols to where they need to be and when they need to be there utilizing the intelligence that you already have at your disposal. By using your geographic and hotspot maps, and time of day/day of week charts to direct patrol, your officers stand a much greater chance to prevent or disrupt a criminal pattern in their area.

Specialized Reports per Team Keys Intelligence Led Policing Success

And patrol is not the only beneficiary of your new Intelligence Led Policing initiative. Your department’s special teams will certainly benefit from this newfound directive. I’m a big believer in specialized reports for special teams — such as narcotics, traffic, detective bureau and SWAT. For instance, in my career I created specialized reports for narcotics that not only showed the house that they were investigating, but the houses in close proximity that were also dealing narcotics. The obvious benefit of these reports would be to show possible networks of narcotics sales localized in certain neighborhoods. An added benefit, and a safety benefit, would be to use those maps when planning undercover operations so as not to base your operation near a house with similar criminal activity that might compromise your location.

For my traffic teams, reports on specific streets where the most speeding tickets were written might indicate where we would need to set up a speed reduction device such as a traffic monitoring trailer or red light camera.

I routinely produced reports based solely on the cases assigned to my detectives division separated by property and persons crimes. I was able to show, through various visualizations, where the majority of each zone-assigned detective’s cases were originating from, and from a historical view of that report, estimate the seasonal caseload that each detective might expect so that they might focus on their most prolific and serious offenders.

And finally, for my SWAT team, I was able to create a report that showed, through the use of geographical satellite maps and criminal activity overlay, the best possible access route to a target location. For instance, I would create a map with a target location in the center of the map. I would then overlay similar crimes along the planned route to that target location. With that information, we were able to layout our safest route to the target location, avoiding any locations with similar criminal activity in order to minimize the possibility of conflict or identification before the target location.

Think Beyond Known Limitations

My best advice to you and your department as you begin this new Intelligence Led Policing chapter, would be to look outside the box that we all create for ourselves within each department. Ask yourself, how would this information, visualized in a different way, help better the department? Ask your staff, if I could improve one thing about how I receive information on crimes, what would it be? Then work with those suggestions to tailor your Intelligence Led Policing approach specifically toward your department’s needs. Do not assume that just because you are used to a certain reporting style or visualization, that it’s the best way or the only way to create that report. Like most cops, I have a strange sense of humor, and therefore really enjoy de-motivational posters. You know, the ones that look like motivational posters, but actually have a cynical or smart alec way of looking at things. My favorite of these posters kind of sums up my approach to breaking out of our predetermined boxes to reach new levels of policing. It’s a picture of a group of men participating in the “Running of the Bulls.” In this particular picture, one of the men is about to get the business end of a bull – if you know what I mean. The caption on the poster reads “Tradition. Just because we’ve always done it this way, doesn’t mean it’s not incredibly stupid.” Challenge yourself to take your intelligence products to a new level. Prove to your staff and colleagues that the department could be doing even more to ensure the safety of its citizens. And never let tradition rule the day just because it’s the way things have always been done.

As always, I appreciate your comments and feedback. I encourage you to comment here or send me a note at daniel.seals@publicengines.com.

Boston Marathon Bombings & Social Media: Law Enforcement Got It Right!

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Brad Rutledge

It was after 11:00 p.m. and I was sitting safely on the couch in my living room, more than 2,300 miles away from the chaos in Boston. I had shut off the television and was about to log off my laptop, and head to bed, when I read a post from a journalist friend of mine who lives in San Diego saying: It’s going down in Boston right now! with links to a few Twitter feeds covering the breaking news.

I, like a lot of Americans, had been closely following the events following the terrible bombings at the Boston Marathon. I opened Twitter, and found the @NewsBreaker account. Managed by David Begnaud, the Twitter account was posting breaking news Tweets every few minutes as the events unfolded in Boston. From @NewsBreaker, I found a link to the Boston Police Scanner, and was able to listen in as well. And, I was crazy enough to also have CNN on my television.

About four hours later, I shut everything down, and went to bed. To me, I learned several things that night about the amazing power of social media, as well as some of the real pitfalls.

NEWS MEDIA FAIL

After following the story that week, it became obvious to me I needed to identify credible sources of information. In the hunt for breaking news and ratings, much of the news media failed at being credible sources. CNN, for example, earlier in the week mis-reported that an arrest had been made – and additionally that the suspect was a “dark skinned male.” Both were false, and law enforcement later corrected them by going to Twitter and issuing statements about the false news. But it was too late. The news of an apprehended suspect spread like wildfire on the Internet, only to be withdrawn later.

Additionally, The New York Post falsely put out a series of incorrect news stories, including a cover story that included a large photograph of innocent people, leading many to conclude they were the bombers, and potentially putting their personal safety at risk. The Post had also included reports of a “Saudi national” in connection with the bombings that proved untrue.

You can read more about these media failures with these news stories:

CNN’s double breakdown: So much for ‘abundance of caution

Media Criticize New York Post, CNN For Boston Marathon Bombings Coverage

LAW ENFORCEMENT GOT IT RIGHT

After being duped a few times by traditionally credible news sources, I turned to official law enforcement for the most accurate news. Specifically: @Boston_Police (Boston Police Department), and @EdDavis3 (Boston Police Commissioner) on Twitter. Their motives had nothing to do with getting a news scoop, or ratings; rather their motives were public safety, and accurate communication. In addition to the amazing job these individuals and groups did in protecting citizens and capturing the suspects – they also did a fantastic job using modern tools like social media.

This event has made it clear that law enforcement must embrace and use new technologies to communicate with the public. I have tried to imagine what it would have been like if I lived in Watertown, Mass., during the town lockdown as law enforcement worked to capture the suspects. It would have been terrifying. And, as I’ve discussed in this blog post, the media proved to not be a reliable source of information. Naturally Watertown residents turned to the most credible sources they could find – ultimately this was law enforcement.

Here are some of the best Tweets from the Boston PD and other credible sources.

In closing, law enforcement agencies today can distribute important information to the public through a variety of means, including websites, blogs, Twitter, and Facebook. It’s vital agencies provide ways the public to access this information on their smart phone through tools like CityConnect, which integrates many online agency websites into one smart phone application. Agencies can learn more about using the power of social media in The Definitive Guide for Social Media Engagement for Law Enforcement.

Over 100 LEAs participate in a Global Tweet-along Tweet-athon March 22

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Jeff Beaver

Map of tweet-a-thon participants wordwide

Map of tweet-a-thon participants worldwide

Starting at 8 a.m. on March 22, law enforcement agencies around the world connected via Twitter to participate in a 24-hour Tweet-a-thon to bring attention to the use of social media by law enforcement. Throughout the day, more than 100 law enforcement agencies from the US, United Kingdom, Canada, Sweden, Iceland and Australia tweeted messages, photos and video of 911 calls being answered by officers on patrol using the hashtag #poltwt; twitter fans were encouraged to submit questions as they followed along.

A tweet from a tweetalong hosted by Rapid City PD

Tweetalong: The Ride Along of the Digital Age

With the advent of social media the traditional [civilian] ride-along has gone digital. In a ride along, a civilian would spend a shift as a passenger in a police car on patrol observing the workday of an officer. With a tweet-along officers on patrol chronicle the crime fighting activities of their shift–responding to 911 calls, chasing fugitives, making arrests–by tweeting photos, video and other information in real-time for twitter fans to follow along.

In recent years, the tweetalong has become somewhat of a booming phenomenon among law enforcement as agencies increasingly recognize its potential in showing the public a side of law enforcement that they don’t often see.

“Anytime we have the chance to give the public a glimpse of how we do our jobs and the type of calls our officers respond to is a good thing. This Tweetalong will allow the LVMPD to connect with its community in an exciting, real time way while also providing education” said Las Vegas PD Sheriff Doug Gillespie.

By hosting tweetalongs, police departments like the Las Vegas PD help to improve their agency’s transparency and rapport within the community by sharing a personal and sometimes gritty on-the-scene perspective with the community. Tweetalongs also enable the community to engage with the agency in real-time by tweeting questions and comments to officers out on the beat.

Organizer Lauri Stevens, founder of LAWS Communications hopes [the] global Tweet-a-thon will bring greater awareness to law enforcement’s growing community outreach efforts through social media. “We hope it sends the message to community members that…they should use [social media] as another means of communicating with local authorities” she said.

Encouraging law enforcement use of social media

While twitter use and the ‘tweetalong’ is becoming a common practice for law enforcement agencies around the world, many agencies have yet to become active on the social media platform. According a recent survey by International Association of Chiefs of Police, just less than half of local law enforcement agencies are actively using twitter to engage the public. Participants of the global tweet-a-thon, like the Middleton WI PD, are looking to change that.

“We hope our participation continues to positively influence the rapidly growing acknowledgement, acceptance and use of social media by public safety agencies around the world” -said Keith Cleasby, social media manager of Middleton WI PD.

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To learn more about how your agency can use Twitter and other tools to maximize community engagement in the social media-verse we encourage you to download our “Definitive Guide to Social Media Engagement for Law Enforcement”

Animated Bullying Poem

Posted on February 22, 2013 by admin

This video, created in partnership with spoken word poet Shane Koyczan, is a poignant example of what a child and adolescent feels when they are bullied in school. Shane himself was bullied as a young child, ”My experiences with violence in schools still echo throughout my life, but standing to face the problem has helped me in immeasurable ways,” Koyczan writes on the “To This Day” website.

It all begs the question, if we start in our own homes with teaching our children the tenets of respect, love, and kindness, might we rid our schools of bullying in this present generation? And if we did that, might we in connection lower crime in our communities and make them a safer place to live? Watch the video and then tell us what you think – how do you help solve the bullying epidemic?

Gun Buyback Programs: Reducing Gun Violence or a PR Stunt?

Posted on February 6, 2013 by Jeff Beaver

Getting Guns Off the Streets:

A recent slew of devastating mass shootings have sparked national outcry and reinvigorated a heated debate over gun violence in America. Faced with increased pressure to respond and take action to reduce gun violence, communities are turning to “Gun Buyback” programs–with gusto- in an effort to take guns, especially those with the capacity for mass casualty, off the streets.

Since the shootings in Connecticut a few weeks ago, dozens of cities across the US are launching buy-back programs in hope that these efforts will prevent future gun-violence . In all over 30 gun buy-back events have been held nation-wide in the weeks since the gruesome Connecticut massacre. Many are being hailed a ‘successes’ by officials who tout record numbers of firearms being turned in to authorities. Just a few weeks ago, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa touted that law enforcement agents had collected 2,037 firearms at the city’s recent buy-back event–the most since it started its buy-back program in 2009.

Off the Streets or Out of the Attic?

LAPD Police Chief Charlie Beck and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa at a buyback event in Van Nuys

While a dumpsters full of firearms looks impressive, experts dismiss the effectiveness of gun buybacks in reducing crime because these events typically attract people less likely to commit violent crimes and guns least likely to be used in a crime. According to studies most gun-related crimes are typically committed by young men with newer firearms, while gun-buyback events typically attract an older crowd turning older guns that are often not in good working condition: hunting rifles or old revolvers from someone’s attic.

Do Buybacks Make a Dent?

Here are a few stats just to have an idea of the enormity of firearms in circulation vs. those collected by buybacks:

The federal government estimates that there are currently over 310 million firearms in circulation within the US, nearly one for every man, woman and child
In the buybacks since Sandy Hook, an estimated 10,000+ guns have been collected
Studies suggest that a 10% reduction in U.S. households with guns would result in only a 3% reduction in homicides
The guns collected by LA in their latest buy-back event, sadly account for only one day’s worth of gun sales in the state of California (2,000 firearms are bought and sold every day in the state).

An Expensive PR Stunt?

Images of police officers taking back guns looks good on the evening news but with thousands spent by local governments to buy back guns and little evidence to prove that buybacks directly reduce gun violence, a gun buyback can come off as an expensive PR stunt. But doesn’t have to. While gun buybacks may not directly reduce reduce gun violence, they can be used to heighten awareness and rally the community, especially when accompanied by a grassroots outreach campaign that works with gang prevention and intervention agencies, community and religious leaders. A comprehensive outreach effort serves not only to encourage participation in neighborhoods suffering from high levels of gun violence, but also to educate communities about the risks and dangers of gun and gang violence.

What do You Say?

Do you think gun-buybacks are effective? A waste of money? PR stunts? How is your community helping to combat gun violence/crime? Share your insights and best practices in the comments section below: