Summary Writing Task Future Cops

question_id: 863

Future Cops

Police may not have access to a crystal ball, but possibly the next best thing with the development of a crime prediction tool in the Knox area.

The Predictive Policing Tool anticipates when, where and how many crimes are likely to occur based on crime statistics from police databases.

Knox Police Station’s crime prevention officer Senior Constable Augustino Nguyen used his business background in planning and forecasting to develop the database following a spate of burglaries in Rowville two years ago. “The prototype I developed predicted a further eight burglaries would take place in the area. Only seven occurred but the results indicated a reasonable level of accuracy,” he said.

Senior Constable Nguyen built other capabilities into the database including crime categories and trends, offenders and hotspot maps. “Once you have enough data you can see the patterns and make predictions using graphs, tables and maps. It allows us to take a more proactive approach to policing, task resources more effectively and prevent crimes before they occur,” he said.

Police use the database to forecast high-volume crimes in Eastern Region and established Operation Notify in April to help drive down crime. The operation initially focussed on thefts where predictive mapping indicated there would be a spike in Wantirna, Ferntree Gully and Knoxfield.

Senior Constable Nguyen gained support from the Knox Life and Activities Club and volunteers dropped 1200 theft prevention flyers in the target zone. “We had zero incidents in the area, which was a really good result,” Senior Constable Nguyen said. “When I presented my findings to the club they committed a further 20 volunteers to do more letterbox drops and we plan to continue the operation until October.”

Senior Constable Nguyen has now turned his attention to 3D Power Map technology, which offers advanced predictive capabilities drawing on crime data as it occurs in real-time. “It has allowed us to identify connections with crimes as they happen and investigate why they are occurring and how we can prevent them,” he said. “If we can understand why, we can start taking further proactive measures and work with our community partners to continue to drive crime down.”