“Police have always relied on data — whether push pins tracking crimes on a map, mug shot cards, or intelligence files on repeat offenders. The problem with all that information is that it has traditionally been slow and hard to use,” writes Martin Kaste in their recent NPR article entitled “How Data Analysis Is Driving Policing.”
"I would have to log into 19 different databases. I'd log in, print out all the tickets that were written to you, and lay them on my desk. Then I'd go and run your criminal history on another database, and print that out. And then another database to see how many times your name was associated with crime reports," says Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Dennis Kato in Kaste’s article.
Later in the article, Kaste also shares that “At the Olympic Division station, Officer Jennifer Ramirez reviews her daily mission sheet printout. She eyes the areas she'll target, ‘because these are the hot spots, these are where the crimes tend to happen, this day, this time, based on the crime mapping that we do."
Hot Spots, ok, now we’re talking.
That’s right up your alley.
Agree?
And the longer we spent reading this article, the more we realized its alignment with how Proactive Operations are handling ‘incidents’ to maximize performance.
Do you see the similarities here?
If not, we recommend reading Kaste’s article – after this one of course.
It’s an informative read with lots of facts about how policing is evolving, much like 21st-century operations.
We’d argue that many things are congruent between policing and running a proactive operation.
So, keep reading; we’re going to share the insight we took from Kaste’s article that might help you enhance your incident management initiatives.
Ready?
Associated Persons and Hot Spots
In today’s operational environment reporting and responding to incidents goes beyond just that.
You’ve got to oversee personnel with various responsibilities, manage all types of incidents, report to multiple stakeholders in your organization, and much more.
Today, we’re more aware of all the complexities of running an operation. But this awareness comes with great responsibility to take care of everything.
And your customers are expecting the first-class service too.
These expectations require your attention and flexibility to get a lot done – and be everywhere always.
But, we know that’s not physically possible.
That’s why modern incident management relies on software solutions to enhance your team’s capabilities.
Inclusive in those incident management enhancements are two functions you’ll find discussion around in Kaste’s article too:
- Associated Person Database
- Hot Spots (or Hotspots)
These two abilities provide leaders with high-quality data for managing property operations and keeping people safe.
Look at the data to identify relevant information about people and locations on your property that have a history.
Then, use this data to drive your next moves – yes, moves.
Let us explain.
Associated Person Database
A helpful repository, your Associated Person Database gives you, and other proactive operations access to a plethora of information on any person previously involved in issues or incidents on your property – good or bad.
This information allows you to go back and learn about someone who might’ve had a bad experience before and is now involved in another incident today.
Insight like this will give you a strategic way to help ensure you reconcile the relationship to keep the customer coming back.
On the other hand, you might come face to face with a repeat offender. John has been caught a couple of times smoking on your property.
He knows he shouldn’t be.
So, is it time to trespass him from your property for good?
You get to decide.
Hot Spots (Or Hotspots)
One of the most useful capabilities to drive your incident management is the ability to look at your data on Hot Spots – locations where specific incidents often occur and at particular times.
Do you have specific locations that you suspect to be high activity locations?
- Intoxicated persons
- Fights
- Smoking offenders
- Car theft
- Wet spills
- Assaults
- Shoplifting
The list goes on, but with the right software solution, you can track your hot spots with ease.
Know which area at which time of day shows the highest activity of one of your incident types, and then direct the appropriate resources to that area to proactively manage it.
That’s what we call Proactive Operations.
Over to You
In today’s operational environment, a lot of variables require your attention at any given moment. You’ve got to be prepared. Looking at your operation, do you have the right solution (and data) to drive your incident management?
Use modern technology to capture the crucial data that allows you to enhance your initiatives while proactively managing incidents to keep everyone on your property safe.
