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Information Builders Helps Erlanger Kentucky Police

June 3, 2008 - The Erlanger Kentucky Police Department (PD) used Information Builders technology to create an operational BI system with integrated search capabilities for local law enforcement applications.

 

The new information system combines current crime data from 19 government agencies to link formerly unrelated information about suspects, incidents, arrests and crimes. Once the information system is fully deployed this summer, patrol officers hope to be able to respond more effectively to all types of calls and provide better services to Erlanger's citizens.

 

"As local police departments strive to offer expanded services in the face of tight or dwindling budgets, law enforcement personnel have to work smarter to offer the same level of protection to their citizens,” said Marc Fields, Erlanger chief of police. "Erlanger PD now has an intelligent crime-fighting tool that will boost productivity and ultimately save lives.”

 

According to Fields, the primary motivator for the project was a desire for better information sharing among multiple agencies. Historically, the Erlanger PD used mapping and statistical software to provide information to patrol officers and supervisors. Neighboring cities were using different systems, and police records were stored in filing cabinets instead of online. Today, law enforcement personnel in ten cities throughout Northern Kentucky can share up-to-date information through the Information Builders WebFOCUS system.

 

WebFOCUS is used to create a real-time search index. Patrol officers access the system via cellular-powered displays in their vehicles. For example, if an officer stops a speeding car and performs a quick search of the license plate number, WebFOCUS's Magnify could display a police report from earlier in the day in a neighboring city involving a hit-and-run incident, even if the witness at the scene only got part of the license plate number. In this way, a suspect in two crimes could be apprehended through a small piece of shared data.

 

Dispatchers and supervisors can view a different slice of this crime data through BI dashboards at headquarters. Information Builders used WebFOCUS and Arc/IMS from ESRI to create this interactive crime portal, which displays real-time views of incidents, arrests, 911 calls and other events throughout the dispatch area.

 

As the system reaches full production mode this summer, Chief Fields said he believes it will enable the department to better deploy its force based on their insight into current and expected criminal activity.


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