Beginning with the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the Seattle Police Department (SPD) began observing significant impacts to key performance measures (e.g., response time, investigative case clearance, homicide, “shots fired”, etc.). Conventionally, these shocks have been addressed through blunt saturation and/or investigative emphasis policing; however, with significant impacts to staffing realized in the “post-Floyd” period (Adams, Mourtgos & Nix, 2023), resource intensive solutions are no longer an option.
Additionally, as Seattle closes out a decade long period of court ordered reform, such blunt, enforcement-forward approaches to crime control are generally considered to be of a bygone era. As highlighted by the events of the summer of 2020, anything short of Goldilocks policing (Sherman, L. W., 2022), that just right approach to public safety, is unacceptable.
Whatever the reason, the SPD can no longer address record homicides (the last three years running), record criminal shots fired incidents, an epidemic of opiate overdoses (fatal and non), increased response time for high priority calls, and increased time to follow-up and close criminal investigations by assigning more resources or allocating more overtime. Innovative uses of technology are the only solution available.
For the last twenty-four months, the considerable analytical resources of the SPD have been focused on rapid operationalization of the principles of Evidence-Based Policing (EBP). Last November, the departments Data Analytics Platform (DAP) completed a cloud migration, enabling the efficient industrialization of intelligent decisions support, targeting, testing, and tracking using the latest the science has to offer. With so much technical focus devoted to supporting EBP in operation, we need assistance to increase engagement inside and outside the department.
Over the last decade, the SPD has discovered data curiosity to be a force multiplier in the field. Socializing analytics and providing the right tools to those with operational context helps generate better questions, which in turn drives the next generation of analytics. Engaging data visualizations also support trust, legitimacy, and perceptions of efficacy through our engagement of open data, while at the same time building shared understanding of critical problems.
This request is for technical assistance in modernizing and enhancing our internal and external Tableau dashboards. Like sworn staffing, civilian staffing of professional positions is an ongoing struggle. What limited civilian analyst and research scientist positions we have are committed to providing critical business intelligence. Additionally, during the pandemic, the SPD lost the five sworn crime analysts (one per precinct) to attrition and backfill of vacancies in patrol. We are fortunate to possess a wealth of data, expertise, and technical tools but we do not have the capacity to make the most of our self-service resources.
Adams, I. T., Mourtgos, S., & Nix, J. (2023). Turnover in Large US Police Agencies Following the George Floyd Protests.
Sherman, L. W. (2022). Goldilocks and the three “Ts”: Targeting, testing, and tracking for “just right” democratic policing. Criminology & Public Policy, 21(1), 175-196.
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