Case Study – Managing Data

Ensemble Group Case Study

(due to sensitivity of the law enforcement agency – names has been changed)

Introduction:

Having a multi-dimensional view of criminals is as important in law enforcement as having a complete view of a business’ customers for a company. With that said, information relating to criminals and crimes are often scattered among many different databases from different agencies.
A buzz word heard often today is Integrated Policing. This, simply, is the collection and centralization of data, which is usually managed by an analyst that will work unique to many of the traditional functions of policing. In understanding this role, several questions arise. Isn’t the ultimate dream of an analyst or investigator to go to one spot and get a comprehensive view of a criminal? Isn’t it an analyst’s dream to spend less time logging into multiple databases with varying usernames and passwords, and more time looking through content rich data from multiple sources all in one spot? Is there a platform that can facilitate the flow and historical views of data collected among different agencies or jurisdictions?
One key tool that answers all of these questions is a real-time, interactive, intelligence database that collects information, improves communication, and helps solve crime. This tool can also be updated to an agency’s specific needs, and not just a canned solution.
This case study documents how one city partnered with their Analysis team, and GangScope, to build a solid Integrated Policing solution that is helping them solve crime faster.

Challenges

The challenges presented were many:

  1. Information is stored in many different government databases including a Record Management System or department excel files as examples, each with varying degrees of information and with varying identifying data to match-up the data correctly.  (Driver’s License, Name, State Ids, etc)
  2. Law enforcement agency’s personnel lack skills, time, and technology to pull together relevant intelligence from internal and external resources.  Without the ability to see the bigger picture, critical information may go unseen.
  3. Law enforcement agency operates with diminishing budgets and scarce resources and less time to do crime analysis.
  4. Data within the varying systems contain a lot of useful intelligence, but because this information is not linked, it’s difficult to search and get a comprehensive picture of a person, vehicle, location, or anything else that could be useful in the prevention or detection of a crime.
  5. Integrated policing is, at a basic level, a large database containing vast amounts of data, including personal and sensitive information. As with any database, there are risks associated with the data itself. Keeping data over time without proper data retention procedures also raise challenges about the retention of data which is kept over long periods of time.

Solution:

GangScope personnel worked with both city and crime analysis personnel to identify the data integrations that made the most sense. Systems were identified and research was done to identify integration opportunities and API availability. Once those systems were identified and a workable solution to integrate was mapped out, GangScope personnel worked to develop the solutions that would allow external information to be automatically retrieved. Distinct systems that were integrated and connected were Arrest records, Probation records, and the Records Management System (RMS).

This custom developed solution allowed for the building of an information repository. It obtained the right information to help build a bigger, clearer view of criminals and it delivered the useful information in an easy, concise view to help make good decisions.

Integrations to send information to external database were also developed. The need to integrate data within GangScope and deliver it to the State database were also identified and developed. A solution was developed that would update the state database multiple times a day with new and updated criminal information.

Because GangScope was built to help with data retention guidelines (28CFR), when data is housed in GangScope, it will automatically keep track and help you stay compliant.

Benefits:

GangScope allows secure storage and easy access to Gangs, Gang Members, Tattoos, Images, Documents, Vehicles, Addresses, Associates data, and much more. It is easy to use and accessible from anywhere and on any device.  The intelligence collected is sharable, thus creating a knowledgeable agency and a tool to help train officers.

GangScope meets and complies with federal (and state) retention laws.  It can connect to and integrate with other agency systems including RMS (record management systems), Jail system, probation data and many others.

Results:

GangScope can help with data integration, reporting and predictive analytics methods that introduce a tremendous opportunity for law enforcement to improve crime prevention through accurate, timely information, and valuable foresight all easily and quickly accessible. These methods allow law enforcement to strategically position resources efficiently and effectively. A well-implemented approach provides a foundation to increase both community and officer safety.

The GangScope Team