Baltimore Using Predictive Policing Technology That Has Found Success In Chicago
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Two cities that historically have shared similar violence problems are now sharing solutions on how to stop crime before it happens.
Baltimore Police is modeling its new predictive policing technology after systems used in Chicago.
"The good thing about law enforcement is that cops are willing to share ideas," Baltimore Police Interim Commissioner Gary Tuggle said.
He said the department is copycatting the crime-fighting approach in Chicago, with officers working from behind keyboards to predict and stop violence in Baltimore before it happens.
"All of the data that we get that we accumulate both yearly, weekly, daily, even hourly," Tuggle said. "We have a challenge, how do we look at that to determine what might happen next?'
The Eastern and Western police districts already house Strategic Decision Support Centers, where officers analyze old incident reports and new data. They compile footage from CCTV cameras and license plate readers. Then, police decide where to patrol so that they stay one step ahead of the city's trigger pullers.
In Chicago, it's working.
"Every district that has the technology has seen at least a 20 percent decrease in violent crime, most notably, gunshots," Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said.
The relentless violence that's plagued the Windy City for decades dipped in 2017. The city averaged 24 murders per every 100,000 people.
In Baltimore, the killing rate was more than double that.
"At the end of the day, we all want the same thing and that's to keep our cities safe," Superintendent Johnson said.
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