Baton Rouge, LA launches public safety mapping platform
The police department of Baton Rouge, LA, is using a new tech platform to improve public safety in the parish.
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Video: New technology tracks crime, traffic reports in real time, to help Baton Rouge police coordinate response | News | theadvocate.com
Police, reporters and city officials huddled around a screen as dots and symbols appeared over a digital map of Baton Rouge representing officers’ movement and reports of crime and traffic
Video: New technology tracks crime, traffic reports in real time, to help Baton Rouge police coordinate response | News | theadvocate.com
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Mayor-President Kip Holden and other Baton Rouge leaders announced the launch of a new interactive digital mapping platform Thursday.
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Mayor reveals digital platform for public safety
Mayor Melvin “Kip” Holden and officials are set to announce a digital platform that supports public safety on Thursday.
Mayor reveals digital platform for public safety
Highlights
Police in Baton Rouge, LA, are using new the Public Safety Common Operational Platform (PSCOP) to map out and centralize public safety-related data.
The platform leverages geographical information system (GIS) technology and dispatch logs to map reports of crime and traffic crashes in real time.
Baton Rouge PD hopes to expand the platform so supervisors can view live video from police body cameras and more effectively direct officers on the ground.
Multiple city departments can access and analyze data from the centralized system, improving inter-departmental coordination to address emergencies and infrastructure.
While the platform is not accessible to the public, much of the underpinning data is available at gis.brla.gov.
Summary
In Baton Rouge, LA, police are using mapping technology to gain a new perspective on public safety-related crime in the parish. The Public Safety Common Operational Platform (PSCOP) combines geographical information system (GIS) technology and dispatch logs to give officers a birds-eye-view of crime and traffic concerns in real time, in addition to other relevant data. The result is an interactive, centralized map of public safety concerns that can reflect on-the-ground developments almost instantly.
The platform's map also displays the location of some on-duty officers and Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) for on-and off-duty police vehicles, in addition to data like police districts and critical infrastructure. This allows supervisors to coordinate more effective police response to crime and emergency situations, monitor officer activity, and keep track of personnel in emergency situations. The PD plans to expand this technology with new GPS-enabled radios and additional body cameras for the force.
With PSCOP, officers can view the map in almost real time, or access 96 hours of past data, allowing the PD to identify trends and patterns. Police Chief Carl Dabadie believes this will allow BRPD to "react and stop crimes before they happen,” making residents, including police officers themselves, safer. The platform also centralizes data from across multiple departments, creating a more complete picture of public safety in Baton Rouge.
Although firefighters and paramedics aren’t using the platform yet, after the police finish the pilot program, other city departments will adopt the new technology. Information Technologies Director Eric Romero believes the centralized platform will improve emergency response time across departments, ultimately improving quality of life for Baton Rouge residents. PSCOP will also be used to map out non-emergency events, such as parades or sporting events, and flexibility of the system means that the maps can be modified to show additional information, such as first-aid stations.
Baton Rouge is one of many "Smart Cities" in the United States using tech innovations to address public sector challenges. The PSCOP initiative has already gained national attention, with Baton Rouge winning the IDC Smart Cities North America Awards in the Police and Law Enforcement category in 2018.