I N S I G H T S – T H E I A C A N E W S L E T T E R – I S S U E 1

I N S I G H T S

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THIS ISSUE

Case Study

PAGE 2

Member Highlight

PAGE 4

Tips & Tricks

PAGE 5

Training Opportunities

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P U B L I C A T I O N S C O M M I T T E E

U P D A T E S On behalf of the IACA Publications

Committee, I'm delighted to say that

exciting changes have been happening

with our Committee. As one of the first

major steps, we developed the

newsletter to be a fundamental and

valuable resource for you. We welcome

feedback and are committed to serving

the needs of the membership.

In 2020, IACA appointed me to be the

Committee Chair, and I was excited to

develop a stellar team. IACA Secretary

Kristen Lottman and I assembled a

talented and committed team.

Over the past year, we've completed the

following tasks:

Edits for the 3rd Edition Exploring

Crime Analysis textbook

Created a new tab on the IACA main

page specifically for Publications

Introduced the team on social media

and created a new section for the

Committee under the About Us

section on the IACA website

We want to create a space to house new

media and resources for our

membership and abroad. We are also

looking to enhance our social media

presence via the IACA social media

platforms to continually push valuable

content on the profession of crime

analysis in a more timely manner.

Our 4 main goals moving into the future

will be:

1. Updating the Exploring Crime

Analysis textbook

2. Researching options for generating

an e-book version of the textbook

3. Creating a high-quality, professional

newsletter

4. Working with the Technology

Committee to create a page on the

IACA website a publications library

for all items shared with the general

membership, to include newsletters,

white papers, surveys, and special

projects.

We hope that you enjoy this first edition

of Insights.

John Ng

IACA Publications Committee Chair

Our Mission

To develop current and relevant information to

share with crime analysts, IACA committees,

members of law enforcement (including senior

leadership), researchers, and the broader

public that supports and promotes the growth,

institutionalization, and professionalization in

the field of crime analysis.

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This case study recaps efforts shared

between the Kansas City, Missouri

Police Department (KCPD) and

Rutgers University to implement Risk

-Based Policing (RBP). Based on Risk

Terrain Modeling (RTM), RBP helps

determine where crime is most likely

to occur based on environmental

features of the study area. With its focus on places, not

people, RBP proved to be an effective, transparent

strategy to tackle Kansas City’s persistent violent crime

problem.

RBP works by starting with a RTM model. Unlike other

policing strategies that use data such as crime or arrest

data, RTM relies on data concerning the physical features

of the environment. Known as “risk factors”, common

examples include convenience stores, vacant properties,

or pawn shops. RTM works by analyzing how various risk

factors interact and thus generate or attract crime.

Consider a park to understand how RTM works; if we

want to answer the question “Why do families take their

children to play at parks?” the rather obvious answer is

because there are features of that landscape that

generate play, such as swings, slides, and merry-go-

rounds. Removing these playful features will result in

fewer families bringing children to play there. Reducing

and preventing crime works very much the same way by

mitigating or eliminating risk factors.

Before continuing, it is important to note all risk factors

are not inherently bad. A convenience store on its own

may not be any cause for concern. However, if that same

convenience store is near abandoned houses and a bus

route, it could potentially lead to issues where criminals

use the bus line to travel to the convenience store and

look for victims to rob. Nearby abandoned properties

could then be used as a place of refuge by offenders.

KCPD’s RBP Strategy

The KCPD deployed RBP from March 15, 2019 through

March 14, 2020. There were many interrelated parts to

the strategy, including providing training about RBP,

bringing municipal departments and other partners into

the strategy, and changing internal processes for data

collection and follow-up.

Patrol members were given a roll call training video and

everyone received in-service training about RBP,

including an overview of the strategy’s goals as well as

expectations about what activities officers were to

perform in the project areas. Although traditional

enforcement activities are part of RBP, they play a much

smaller role when compared to preventive and

collaborative tasks performed with partners and

community members.

KCPD members worked to address what they could

based on their responsibilities and legal authority. In

other instances, notifications were made to municipal

departments or other partners about specific risk factors

in a Focus Area. For example, one high-risk area involved

a liquor store, a cell phone provider, vacant properties,

and a bus stop all in the same city block. The bus stop

contributed to loitering in front of the businesses and the

two stores generated quality of life issues and 911 calls

for service, including violent crimes. The KCPD initiated

some criminal investigations where appropriate but other

elements, such as the Kansas City Area Transportation

Authority (KCATA) and local Fire Marshall, played key

roles once notified. The KCATA removed the problematic

bus stop once the KCPD informed them about its

negative influence in the area. The KCATA confirmed

removing the bus stop would not affect any citizens living

in the area that rely on the bus for transportation due to

two other bus stops located just down the street. The

loitering decreased dramatically once the bus stop was

removed and violent crime declined, as well.

The only administrative requirements made of officers

were to make quick notes in the CAD system indicating

what the officer performed (e.g., “Notified Regulated

Industries about ABC Liquor Store having no liquor

license displayed”) and utilize the custom “RTM”

disposition code when finishing an RBP-related activity or

call for service. This custom CAD code allowed for easy

C A S E S T U D Y :

R I S K - B A S E D

P O L I C I N G A T K C P D

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collection of data about activities performed in the

project’s areas, as well as providing the details necessary

for notification and follow-up with partners and other

stakeholders.

Finally, each patrol division’s RBP efforts were reviewed

and discussed during weekly crime meetings. Similar to

CompStat, these meetings involve executive staff and

patrol commanders discussing crime and other pertinent

issues faced in the field. RBP data and outcomes were

shared during these meetings on a rotating basis to

ensure the RBP effort was embedded in practice and not

viewed as “just another project.”

Results

Overall, the analysis from Rutgers University revealed

target crime types (i.e., homicide, aggravated assault, and

armed robbery) decreased significantly. Focus Areas

outperformed control/comparison areas by 22.6%,

translating to a practical reduction of 157 violent crimes

(p<0.05). A total of 13 Focus Areas were chosen to

receive RBP-related activities; although these areas

encompassed a mere 1.5% of Kansas City’s land area

they accounted for a reduction of over 23% of the entire

city’s violent crime for the evaluation period.

In addition, officers’ self-initiated enforcement activity

resulting in arrest or citation throughout the study areas

decreased 22%. To be clear, this percentage indicates

officers’ self-initiated enforcement activity. It does not

include 911 calls where citizens called to report a crime

and a suspect was apprehended at the scene. This

difference was made to establish precisely how KCPD’s

officers went about reducing and preventing crime in the

strategy’s Focus Areas. The 22% reduction emphatically

demonstrates a police department can have a

significantly positive impact on crime without having to

rely solely on arrest or other punitive measures.

The KCPD was able to achieve these impressive results

with virtually no added cost. There was no overtime

required, no grant funding needed, nor specialized

squads to create. Instead, the KCPD affected meaningful

crime reduction using resources in more strategic,

focused ways.

Lessons Learned & Next Steps

Despite the strategy’s success there are opportunities for

improvement. One key observation was finding ways to

more deeply involve municipal departments into the RBP

effort. KCPD members routinely shared data with

colleagues at City Hall but convincing outside elements

about the importance of RBP data when compared to

other routine priorities was challenging. Similarly, the

department should find ways to better share the

responsibilities of addressing risk factors throughout the

city with its partners and other stakeholders. Many risk

factors fall well outside the scope of responsibility of a

police department.

Keeping the KCPD’s members on task with RBP activities

was difficult at times, as well. Officers would occasionally

fall back on enforcement based activities so project

leaders and other supervisory/command staff would

remind officers RBP is about crime prevention as

opposed to strict law enforcement.

Perhaps most important of all, the end of the strategy’s

first year coincided with the beginning of the COVID-19

pandemic in the United States, which was then shortly

followed up by vast civil unrest following the death of

George Floyd. The RBP effort was effectively put on hold

at that point while the KCPD determined appropriate

strategies to address both the pandemic and riots. The

KCPD did not want officers to feel pressured to continue

the RBP strategy with so much uncertainty and other

challenges being thrust upon them. Thankfully, RBP has

been brought back into discussion, with a reboot of the

strategy being planned for February, 2021.

Questions or other comments can be shared with

Captain Jonas Baughman at Jonas.Baughman@kcpd.org.

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We are pleased to showcase

Adam Marsden from the

Australian Federal Police (AFP).

He is a Detective Leading Senior

Constable and currently a Forensic

Intelligence Officer within the AFP

Forensic Intelligence and

Geospatial Team (FORINT) specializing in

geographic profiling (GP). Here is a bit more about

Adam…we thank him for taking the time to talk with

the Insights team!

Tell us more about your work at FORINT, Adam.

FORINT is an all-source intelligence unit that

generate new leads, identify targetable

vulnerabilities and influence operational decision-

making. We combine conventional intelligence

holdings and approaches with forensic information,

subject matter expertise and technical knowledge to

generate actionable intelligence. FORINT also

provides operational intelligence support in cases

where there is a notable technical aspect or

significant anticipated forensic involvement, like GP.

How did you become involved in crime analysis?

I have been involved in crime analysis work

throughout my 15 year policing career within the

AFP, even as a Detective in various niche areas. In my

roles, I have analyzed financial data and cell phone

data for major fraud and domestic terrorism. My

experience in these investigations, as well as working

closely with our intelligence analysts, has given me

great exposure to what can be achieved through

successful and thorough crime analysis. In addition

to work experience, I have formal education in

Policing (Investigations), Fraud and Financial Crime,

and research in Geographic Profiling (GP).

What in your background, education, and training

helped you succeed in crime analysis?

At the beginning of 2020, I was the lead on a project

assessing the value of GP in Australian serial crime

investigations with a view to setting up Australia's

first GP capability within the AFP. My university

research in GP as it related to shoplifting, and ATM

skimming, helped me shape the project into one

which would be the building blocks of a new and

versatile capability in Australia. Over three months, I

analyzed historical Australian serial crimes for which

there was a known outcome, in order to assess the

accuracy of GP and to act as a foundation of

learning the way in which serial criminals offended in

Australia in a variety of crime types.

Have you networked with other analysts around the

world? What interactions have you had with IACA/

IACA members, if any?

During the project, I received a scholarship to travel

to the United States and learn from other crime

analysts and GPAs. Because GP was so new in

Australia, it was crucial to talk with experts in this

field to give my project the best opportunity to

succeed. I was fortunate enough to have met with

teams around Orange County, California, including

crime analysts from Buena Park, Anaheim, Tustin,

and Irvine Police Departments, and this is how my

network in the crime analyst industry grew.

What is your favorite crime analysis project and why?

Last year, I assisted with a missing person

investigation with suspected foul play. I overlayed

the person of interest’s cell data with their version of

events, and identified a number of inconsistencies

within their story and leads to follow. During this

project, I also had the opportunity to generate

geospatial products for search and rescue in remote

areas of Australia. I got to fly in a police helicopter

and explore locations I would not ordinarily travel to.

What advice do you have for crime analysis students

or professionals?

Do not be discouraged by the people who say “it

will not work” or “we have always done it this way”. If

you see an opportunity,

believe in your skills to drive

the opportunity to reality.

I A C A M E M B E R H I G H L I G H T

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The Tips & Tricks section of this

month’s newsletter will highlight

an array of free/open-source data

sources for a variety of topics.

Thanks to IACA member and

Publications Committee member

Grant Drawve for compiling this

list! Note several may focus on

data for North America or the

USA so feel free to email the

Publications Committee at

publications@iaca.net with

additional links. We’ll be happy to

add it to the list!

General

ICPSR – Data archive for social/

behavioral sciences, as well as

criminal justice, substance use,

and terrorism.

World Bank – Free and open

access to global data; varies by

country.

US Government – US Government

website housing open access to

thousands of various datasets.

US Health Data – US Government

website housing public data

concerning health outcomes.

Pew Research Center –

Nonpartisan research center

focused on demographic research

and social science.

Kaggle - Information-sharing

platform for code/script and other

datasets.

ArcGIS Open Data – Open access

data, primarily spatial in nature

Crime/Public Safety

ICPSR – NACJD – Archived

datasets for the National Archives

of Criminal Justice Data; Federally-

funded cities typically archive data

here.

Data.gov - Crime Search – Direct

link to search Data.gov for

keyword “crime.”

Police Data Initiative – Open

access to a variety data from

participating law enforcement

agencies.

The Trace – Open access gun

violence data for jurisdictions

across the USA.

Global Terrorism Database – Open

-source database regarding

terrorism from around the world

since 1970.

American Terrorism Study –

Project focused on US domestic

terrorism data derived from

Federal court records and open

source media.

Bias Homicide Database – Dataset

focusing on bias homicides from

1990 – 2019 (data can be

requested).

Hate Groups – Spatial dataset

from the Southern Poverty Law

Center tracking hate groups

across the USA.

Officer-Involved Shootings –

Washington Post dataset of on-

duty officer-involved fatal

shootings since 2015.

Social

US Census – US Census data hub.

Data USA – Data visualization and

summaries for geographies based

on US government data.

US Census Geodatabase –

Geodatabases from the US Census

containing American Community

Survey data.

Opportunity Atlas – Spatial

dataset/online mapping following

20 million Americans from

childhood to mid-thirties; related

to income/poverty.

EPA EnviroAtlas - Spatial datasets

related to human health such as

clean water, clean air, or

temperature.

Feeding America – Requestable

county-level data related to feed

insecurity in the USA.

CDC Social Vulnerability Index -

Interactive map and dataset on

social vulnerability.

CDC PLACES – Local Data for

Better Health – Data at city and

tract levels on health outcomes in

500 largest cities in USA.

USDA – Food Access – Food

access dataset often used to

identify food deserts.

Infrastructure

DHS – HIFLD – US foundation-

level geospatial data within open

public domain (e.g., hospitals,

schools).

US Census - TIGER/Line – US

TIGER/Line files/shapefiles

containing GEOIDs.

Microsoft – Building Footprints –

Downloadable data on building

footprints from around the world.

US Energy Atlas – Data and

interactive maps related to energy

infrastructure/resources in the

USA.

T I P S & T R I C K S

6

Go to IACA Course Catalog for all trainings

Excellence in Analytics – Simplify

When: February 25, 2021/1400 hours EST, also

available on demand via the link in the description.

Where: Webinar

Cost: Free

Description: Identify the things that you are doing

today that can absolutely be released… how to cut

the fat, wash the cottage cheese, and get ultra-

focused on the ONE THING that will lead you and

your teams to high-performance activities, desired

results, excellent team culture, and better leaders of

self. Learn more here.

European Crime Analysis Conference

When: March 10, 2021 1200-1500 hours CET

Where: Webinar

Cost: Free

Description: This year’s online event is a joint venture

between IACA and the Danish ILP/ECAC team. If you

are interested in this webinar please write to

ecac@iaca.net – limited space so sign up quickly.

Prior to the event, you will receive an email with a

link to the IACA platform. Learn more here.

Advanced Analytical Methods Using Microsoft Office

When: There are sessions in Apr, Jul, & Oct 2021

Where: Online

Cost: IACA Members: $395

Non-Members: $445

Description: This 12-week course offers an advanced

study of Access, Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and

general statistics. Learn to build your own clean

Access databases, create charts, maps, and timelines

in Excel, record videos in PowerPoint, and create

bolder bulletins in Word. Learn more here.

T R A I N I N G O P P O R T U N I T I E S