I recently took a tour of the Sheboygan Police Department Offices located at 1315 N. 23rd Street. On this visit I learned that the department has implemented and used technology to become more effective and to provide the community with more information so they are more informed, have an increased awareness as to what is occurring around them, as well as to provide the residents information on how they can prevent themselves from becoming a victim. The department with the assistance of the city Information and Technology Department and Planning Departments has updated their website to share information about city and department initiates, department resources, and ways to identify and contact your neighborhood officer.
The department has partnered with NIXLE an open communication platform that allows citizens to sign up to receive real time alerts via text message, email or social media applications regarding severe weather events, traffic and safety hazards, and crime events as well as advisory messages regarding neighborhood meetings, crime trends and sex offender residency appeals. In addition the Department also posts this information to the Sheboygan Next Door a private social network for residents.
In 2013 the department acquired software to perform crime pattern analysis, predictive analytics, crime mapping and intelligence analysis. The software assists the crime analyst in pattern identification, data mining, analysis and prediction of serial events. Through the production of reports crime patterns, trends and hot spots are identified faster and officers have greater situational awareness of where and when crime is occurring allowing them to patrol with a purpose. This information allows for the development of operational strategies and the use of effective tactics to intervene faster, preventing further victimization and reducing crime.
This software also allows the department to share crime information with the public through an interactive crime map that can be located through the department’s website, sheboyganpolice.com, under the community tab. This webpage also provides information on how the map can also be downloaded on your phone through a mobile app.
The department with the assistance of the city IT department has leveraged SharePoint software to increase internal communication, automate the development and delivery of data and information products to increase situation awareness and allow relentless follow-up to occur across shifts when suspects and leads have been developed. The SharePoint site also allows for information to be collected in one place and work processes to be streamlined. This is a link to the page about the interactive crime map: sheboyganpolice.com/raids-online
Through grant funding the department has also acquired a mobile forensic extraction device that allows bit-for-bit extraction and in-depth decoding and analysis of data from thousands of mobile devices, including smartphones, tablets and portable GPS devices. The device allows investigators to collect protect and act decisively on mobile data with the speed and accuracy a situation demands. As technology continues to advance portable devices continue to play an increased role in our daily lives as well as in the commission of crimes. Keeping up with this technology is critical for solving and preventing crimes on a daily basis.
Lastly, the department has acquired and deployed automated license plate reader technology that is in place on one squad. The ALPR scans license plates as the squad patrols the city and compares the scanned plates to a hotlist of vehicles that have been reported stolen, used in a crime or have suspended or revoked registration. When a match is made the system alerts the officer in seconds, who then confirms the match and then takes action on the violation.
It’s important that the Sheboygan Police Department continues to make these technology upgrades so that each officer can do his best to keep Sheboygan a safe city.
