Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson announced today the completed expansion of predictive technology and analytical tools to support police in preventing, combating and responding to violent crime. After significant reductions in gun violence in districts already equipped with these tools in 2017, the 3rd (Grand Crossing) and 4th (South Chicago) police districts have rolled out station-based Strategic Decision Support Centers, district-wide gunshot detection systems, POD crime cameras and mobile phone technology to support strategic deployment and reduce gun violence.

“This technology doesn’t supplant what our officers do, it supports what our officers are already doing,” said Mayor Emanuel. “CPD’s smart policing strategy helps officers be more effective, proactive and professional while working toward our one goal to get more police on our streets and get gangs, guns and drugs off our streets.”

The implementation of this technology builds upon CPD’s crime strategy of targeted, data driven enforcement to build a culture of accountability among violent offenders. Progress made by this strategy helped to reduce gun violence throughout Chicago by nearly 22% in 2017.

During the announcement, Superintendent Johnson also previewed his upcoming two-day Chicago Crimefighters Conference. The second annual interagency meeting will cover 2017 crime reduction strategies, data driven policing strategy, proactive deployments and community engagement to reduce crime and build public trust. Given the encouraging progress in the Englewood community, twenty US cities and the federal government have requested to participate in the Superintendent’s meeting to share best practices about how Chicago reduced gun violence in 2017.

“The expansion of our smart policing strategy has helped us to focus on the sources of our violent crime before it can claim another victim,” said CPD Superintendent Johnson. “The expansion of this technology into the 3rd and 4th districts will allow us to make strategic deployment decisions and respond to incidents sooner, helping us reduce crime in our most challenging districts. I look forward to discussing this strategy with our partners in law enforcement at my upcoming Crimefighters Conference.”

In 2017, suite of technologies was rolled out in six CPD’s districts that have faced historical challenges with gun violence: 6th (Gresham), 7th (Englewood), 9th (Deering), 10th (Ogden), 11th (Harrison) and 15th (Austin) police districts. These districts, which accounted for more than half of homicides in 2016, led Chicago’s crime reduction through 2017 and outperformed districts not equipped with the technology, with an average 25% reduction in gun violence. Last year, the Englewood District, among the most historically challenged communities and the first to implement a nerve center, saw over 40% less shooting incidents than in 2016, the lowest level since the city began keeping records.

After the demonstrated success of this program, the 3rd and 4th police districts were selected because, despite the citywide reduction in gun violence, they represented the greatest priority. Today’s announcement includes the following technologies:

ShotSpotter Gunshot Detection and POD Crime Cameras Expansion

The City has installed the ShotSpotter® gunshot detection system to cover the entire 3rd and 4th police districts on the city's south side, as well as increase the number of POD crime cameras. The POD crime camera footprint has been increased to allow for better integration between the two technologies.

ShotSpotter is a sophisticated system that uses electronic monitoring to detect gun shots. It detects the fullest range of gunfire, collects data that helps CPD define the scope of illegal gunfire, and with this expansion now covers exponentially more geographic area. On average, the technology gives police a five-minute lead on incidents of gun violence when compared to traditional 911 calls. The real-time monitoring also serves as a "force multiplier” because it provides critical information for better, more timely resource allocation.

Strategic Decision Support Centers

Strategic Decision Support Centers (SDSC), which have been installed in the 3rd and 4th police districts, are district based intelligence centers that utilize existing data sources within CPD, such as offender criminal history databases and past crime data. The technology will also integrate with ShotSpotter gunshot detection and POD cameras in those police districts. The new SDSC places all this information it into a single, usable platform that will ensure district command staff and officers are prepared with the information necessary to plan their patrol deployment or respond to a call. The new centers will each be staffed with a District Intelligence Officer who can coordinate the information directly with patrol units in the field, as well as a civilian University of Chicago data analyst who will work to ensure the software is being utilized and that data is being collected effectively.

Mobile Technology

CPD will also issue mobile phones equipped with ShotSpotter notification to every beat officer who responds to a service call in the 3rd and 4th districts. These devices will give officers real-time access to district intelligence information and gunshot detection notifications to police officers in the field. This mobile technology will allow for smarter, data driven patrols and significantly decreased response times to potential service calls.

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