Tacoma Police Adopt Crime Prediction System
By: KING
Updated: January 31, 2013
(KING) Call it a Crystal Ball of Crime.
Tacoma Police say it will help stop bad guys before they strike.
The department is rolling out a new software system call 'Pred-Pol', which uses an algorithm to define, and predict where crime could occur. The system mines data from the past five years, and can define potential problems spots based on time of day and a 500 foot radius.
Assistant Police Chief Pete Cribbin says it will help his department more accurately deploy officers, especially after another round of staff cuts. He points to Los Angeles and New York as cities which have used predictive technology to help reduce property crime by double digits. Cribbin says Tacoma's goal is to do the same.
Officers will start using the software in the next couple of weeks. Cribbin says a federal grant helped fund the software.
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