Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson announced today the latest piece of Chicago's smart-policing strategy: new predictive technology and analytical tools to support police in preventing, combating and responding to violent crime in the south and west sides. In the 7th (Englewood) and 11th (Harrison) police districts – which were responsible for over a third of the increase in homicides for 2016 – station-based Strategic Decision Support Centers, district-wide ShotSpotter gunshot detection systems, POD crime cameras and mobile phone technology have been launched aimed at reducing violence.

“We are going to ensure our police officers have the best tools, technology and training to do their jobs effectively,” said Mayor Emanuel. “Using state-of-the-art technology, our police department can better predict where officers should be deployed and better fight gun violence.”

The implementation of this technology builds upon CPD’s 2017 crime strategy of targeted, datadriven enforcement to build a culture of accountability among violent offenders.

“In order to reduce violence in Chicago we must have a strategy that utilizes data to focus on the right people, at the right place, at the right time,” said CPD Superintendent Johnson. “The implementation of this technology will allow us to respond to incidents in less time, make strategic deployment decisions that are based upon a combination of historical crime data and ever changing district intelligence, and put all of that information in the hands of officers in the field through a mobile phone. Those powerful tools will help us reduce crime in our most challenging districts.”

Today’s announcement includes the following technologies:

ShotSpotter Gunshot Detection and POD Crime Cameras Expansion

The City has completed the expansion of the ShotSpotter® gunshot detection system and POD crime cameras. ShotSpotter now covers the entire 7th and 11th police districts on the city's south and west side – a total geography of 13.5 square miles. The POD crime camera footprint was increased by 25% in the two districts 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), installed in the 7th and 11th police districts, are districtbased intelligence centers that utilize existing data sources within CPD, such as offender criminal history databases and past crime data. The technology also integrates with the now district-wide ShotSpotter gunshot detection 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 center will 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 7th and 11th districts. These devices, funded by a grant from the Chicago Police Foundation, 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.