The Chicago Police Department’s Information Collection for Automated Mapping (ICAM) Program

U.S. Department of Justice RT ME NT OF J US PA TI CE DEOffice of Justice Programs BJ A C E G OVC MS OF F RA IJ N I S J O F OJJ D P B RONational Institute of Justice J US T I C E P National Institute of Justice P r o g r a m F o c u s The Chicago Police Department’s Information Collection for Automated Mapping (ICAM) Program

PROGRAM FOCUSThe Chicago Police Department’sInformation Collection for AutomatedMapping (ICAM) Programby Thomas F. RichT o better understand the nature and extent ofcriminal and social problems in the community andimprove allocation of resources, a growing number of computerized mapping to be a valu- able tool that had not yet reached its full potential.1 Because mapping software has a unique ability to overlay disparate data sets (e.g., citizencrime control and prevention organizations are turning complaints; police incident data; theto computerized mapping. A recent National Institute locations of specific sites, such asof Justice (NIJ) study reported that officials found abandoned buildings or liquor stores; Highlights Computerized mapping is emerging as an User Friendly potentially contributing to significant re- effective tool to help police departments ductions in motor vehicle theft and saving track criminal activity in neighborhoods. ICAM’s unique easy-to-use design can be millions of dollars for the insurance Combined with a technique known as traced to the mandate of the ICAM co- industry. geocoding (which verifies addresses and project coordinator, Deputy Superinten- links other geographic information with dent Charles Ramsey, who said the map- Planned Enhancements them), computer mapping software can ping system should be “so user-friendly, even I can make a map.” The system ICAM currently is not fully accessible to combine data sets to provide a multidi- the public because no program exists to mensional view of crime and its potential designers also factored in the needs of officers. A CPD detective and an officer block out confidential information, such contributing factors. as the names and addresses of victims. A spent several weeks at a precinct station Although many large police departments finding out what officers wanted from the modified version of ICAM is being devel- are using this technology, the Chicago computerized mapping system. oped that will allow the public to generate Police Department (CPD) has put together maps and lists of crimes in their neighbor- one of the most accessible and easy-to-use Using a series of clicks made with a com- hoods without divulging confidential data. programs in the Nation. Since its imple- puter mouse, ICAM can produce a map of reported offenses of a particular type in a ICAM is currently limited in its ability to mentation in May 1995, the Information aid crime analysis. For example, an officer Collection for Automated Mapping specified area, or it can produce a chart of the 10 most frequently reported offenses cannot generate a map of calls for service (ICAM) program has been praised by the or arrests. Major revisions, being made city’s police officials, beat officers, and in an area. A keyboard is not required for the ICAM system. under an initiative known as ICAM 2, will the public. address these and other issues. For ex- Because the mapping program was cre- The computer hardware and software for ample, the enhanced system will be able to ated in conjunction with the Department’s ICAM were developed with a $1 million map reported offenses within specified community policing program, the maps grant from the Illinois Motor Vehicle Theft distances of a location (e.g., within 1,000 have been an effective way to work with Prevention Council. The council under- feet of a school) and track changes in residents on addressing problems in their stood that computer mapping could per- crime over time. In addition, a new citywide neighborhoods. The maps are expected to mit geographic analysis of the relation- 911 emergency network will allow offic- become regular features of neighborhood ship between the locations of a car’s theft ers to access the data bases of districts beat meetings with police officers. and its subsequent recovery—thus, throughout the city.2 National Institute of Justice

PROGRAM FOCUSand census data), computerized maps be incurred when the data are trans- these files may have missing or un-can provide a multidimensional over- ferred to the mapping system. named streets or incorrect addressview of crime and its potential contrib- ranges.uting factors. s Procedures are required to ensure that addresses of data to be mapped The Chicago Police DepartmentComputerized mapping is particularly are accurate (e.g., street names are (CPD) has overcome these obstaclesuseful for police departments with spelled correctly). Ideally, an address and put together a mapping system—computer-aided dispatch and records would be verified whenever it is en- Information Collection for Auto-management systems, which store tered into a computer system. How- mated Mapping (ICAM)—that canand maintain calls for service, as ever, it may be necessary, first, to be used by police officers throughoutwell as incident, arrest, and other develop an accurate base map; police the agency. While a growing numberdata that are potentially mappable. departments may want to undertake of law enforcement agencies haveThese systems typically have a geo- the time-consuming, albeit one-time, highly sophisticated mapping systemscoding feature that verifies addresses task of editing computerized street (see “Mapping Systems in Other Po-and associates them with other geo- files of their jurisdictions. The street lice Departments”), it appears thatgraphic information, including police files can be obtained from the U.S. only CPD has a system that enablesreporting areas, beats, and districts. Bureau of the Census or commercial officers with little or no special train- geographic data vendors, but even ing to create and quickly retrieveBefore implementing computerizedmapping systems, however, policedepartments are faced with a numberof issues: Mapping Systems in Other Polices The costs of the necessary hard- Departmentsware and software can be substantial. Numerous police departments around the Corporation to develop a custom softwares Commercially available mapping country use mapping software, in most application that allows users to generatesoftware is more complicated and cases, to support crime analysis activities. maps of reported offenses meeting speci- The Dallas and Los Angeles Police De- fied criteria. The options for querying theharder to learn than word processing partments are among the more active users data base of reported offenses are exten-or spreadsheet software and often of this technology. sive—a user can specify crime types, daterequires special multiday training and time ranges, modus operandi, pointscourses. This limits the accessibility Dallas. The Dallas Police Department has of entry/exit, property descriptions,of the mapping software and often developed what might be called a “text- weapon descriptions, suspect descriptions,makes police departments dependent only” version of ICAM. Located at each vehicle descriptions, victim descriptions, police substation, a “walk-up-and-use”on a small number of specially trained and narrative key phrases. The applica- system produces a list of reported offensespersons. tion is installed at all 18 area stations, that meet specified criteria. Once a list is where it is used by the area crime analyst. generated, the user can export it to a gen-s The data to be mapped must be eral purpose mapping software package The analyst uses the application to pro-available on an ongoing basis to en- duce crime alert bulletins, “in-custody” (the Department uses MapInfo) that can besure that maps are timely and up-to- bulletins, and “wanted” bulletins. The ap- used to map the list of offenses. A “hand-date. Unless the mapping system can plication is also used to enhance cases, to ful” of officers in the Department—and respond to officers’ requests for crimeuse electronic data that already exist at least one civilian at each substation— maps, and to generate crime maps for areain the department’s computer-aided know how to use MapInfo.2 biweekly tactical planning meetings.3dispatch or records management sys- Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Policetems, substantial data entry costs will Department contracted with MapInfo Program Focus 3

PROGRAM FOCUStheir own maps of crime and commu- a minimum of 1 year to a single beat ICAM’s Relationshipnity conditions and share them with within his or her district.5 Beat officersthe community. This Program Focus are instructed to focus on problem to CAPSdiscusses ICAM in terms of its devel- solving, and dispatch procedures have In 1995, officers in all of Chicago’sopment and implementation; current been changed to limit the time they 25 police districts began using ICAMfeatures, usage, and impact; planned spend responding to calls for service to better understand the problems inenhancements; and implications for outside their assigned beats.6 Beat their assigned areas and to developother police departments. officers are also required to attend strategies to address them. The offi- regularly scheduled “beat meetings” cers also began to share ICAM mapsThe Context for with community residents. with residents, improving police- community relations and giving citi-ICAM: Community The evaluation of CAPS, partially zens a chance to help police cut downPolicing funded by NIJ, has focused on the on crime by providing data for joint program’s implementation in the five police-community problem-solvingICAM was developed as part of CPD’s prototype districts.7 The 1995 report efforts. Developing ICAM was thusfar-reaching and ambitious community stated: an integral part of Chicago’s commu-policing strategy. Unlike many other nity policing approach.community policing programs that are [Many] prototype district residentslimited to a single unit in the depart- detected positive changes in polic- The superintendent’s strategicment, the Chicago Alternative Policing ing during its first year of opera- vision for ICAM. The importance ofStrategy (CAPS) is departmentwide. tion, and residents of most of the using and sharing information throughThe strategic plan for reinventing CPD prototypes thought the police had technology was a key element in thedescribes CAPS as a “wholesale trans- grown more responsive to com- superintendent’s 1993 plan for imple-formation of the department, from a munity concerns. There was also menting CAPS:largely centralized, incident-driven, evidence that the program led to acrime suppression agency to a more significant decline in crime-related The Department must continue todecentralized, customer-driven organi- problems in three prototypes, drug seek out and apply new technolo-zation dedicated to solving problems, and gang decline in two districts, gies, as it has done in the past withpreventing crime, and improving the and significant decreases in levels AFIS, Live-Scan, and other sys-quality of life in each of Chicago’s of physical decay in two areas. tems. New technologies must goneighborhoods.”4 In fact, CAPS is Many of the changes in percep- beyond finding better ways toreally a city program with strong sup- tions of crime problems in the detect offenders and respond toport from the Mayor’s office and close prototype areas were mirrored crimes: they must provide theinvolvement of city agencies, which by declines in officially reported information and analytical capa-have been directed to give top priority crime and survey measures of bilities that help police officersto “CAPS service requests” that affect victimization.8 and the community identify andcrime and neighborhood safety. solve problems and, therefore, Wesley Skogan, director of the evalua- prevent crimes.CAPS was launched in April 1993 tion effort, called the results of CAPSin 5 prototype police districts; it has “among the most substantial I’ve Information is power. To supportsince been adopted in all of the city’s seen” compared to other community our new, decentralized approach25 districts. CAPS revolves around policing programs in the country.9 to decisionmaking, the Depart-the beat officer, who is assigned for ment must establish a new, decentralized approach to data collection and analysis as well. Systems4 National Institute of Justice

PROGRAM FOCUS should be put in place to give collaborations between researchers data, including the location of rapid- officers the information they and CPD had demonstrated both the transit stops, schools, youth organiza- need, when and where they need feasibility and utility of such an ap- tions, public housing facilities, parks, it. Where appropriate, these sys- proach. The first effort in 1988, an liquor stores, and demographic data.15 tems should also provide com- NIJ-funded project, involved CPD, These maps could depict not only munity members with up-to-date the Chicago Alliance for Neighbor- “hot spots” and other locations where statistical information to help hood Safety (CANS)—an umbrella crimes were committed but also an them in identifying and targeting organization that trains community array of associated and possibly con- problems.10 residents in problem solving)—and tributing factors. researchers at the University of IllinoisThe superintendent also emphasized at Chicago and Northwestern Univer- To build on these previous efforts,the importance of accessibility as a sity in creating a rudimentary map- in 1993 Officer Lewin and Detectivefeature of any new information sys- based crime analysis system in one Soltysiak first spent several weekstem: “In many cases, computers will CPD district. In their report, the re- in the 11th District (Area 4) inter-need to be moved out of the back searchers stated that the system had an viewing beat officers and detectivesroom, where they have served as impact in a number of areas, including: and testing various formats to deter-specialized tools, and into the opera- mine the presentation and type of in-tional levels of our organization, [In] combining data from different formation that would be most useful towhere they can become more flexible sources, in providing an institu- officers and detectives. The consensusand far-reaching tools of the police.”11 tional memory of a beat, in pro- was that maps—“simple, clear, and viding detectives with the ability easy-to-read”—would be the most use-Development to search for patterns more readily, ful format to display crime information. in permitting proactive manage-of ICAM ment by the district commander, Obtaining funding. However, one and in improving community re- obstacle to developing the computer-Using the superintendent’s strategic lations between the police and ized mapping system was cost. Forvision as a guide, Officer Jonathan community organizations.12 a comprehensive system to be put inLewin (24th District) and Detective place, money was needed to pay forLarry Soltysiak (Area 4 Division) took Warren Friedman, executive director the hardware and software at all 25on the challenge of developing a sys- of CANS, believes that initiation of police districts and specialized CPDtem that would provide useful infor- the ICAM project was a particularly units at the area level, which includedmation directly to the beat officer. At significant step toward obtaining a work station for running ICAM, athe time, beat officers relied on hand- CPD acknowledgment of the impor- server for network maintenance andwritten offense reports to determine tance of working with community support, and a laser printer.the level of criminal activity in their organizations.13assignment areas, which took days to CPD applied for and received a $1analyze in any detail. Computerized Later, in 1991, researchers at the million award from the Illinois Motorincident data were kept on CPD’s Illinois Criminal Justice Information Vehicle Theft Prevention Councilmainframe, but the system was ac- Authority and police officials in (IMVTPC) to buy the necessary equip-cessible only to trained computer CPD’s Area 4 teamed up to implement ment. IMVTPC, created in 1991 byoperators. a map-based system for studying street the insurance industry, envisioned gang crime.14 The study helped iden- computerized mapping as an effectiveCPD’s prior experience with map- tify those areas with the highest risk of tool for auto theft investigators be-ping. Developing ICAM was not gang-related violence. This effort was cause it would allow a geographicCPD’s first attempt to implement notable because it combined police analysis of the relationship betweencomputerized mapping. Two earlier data with a wide variety of community the location of a car theft and the Program Focus 5

PROGRAM FOCUSlocation of the car’s recovery. Then in summer 1994 CPD Deputy number of ways, each of which re-IMVTPC supports a variety of vehi- Superintendent and CAPS Co-Project quires a few additional mouse clicks.cle theft prevention programs; for Director (then Deputy Chief) Charles As shown in exhibit 1, page 8, the userexample, they provided funds for Ramsey made an unannounced visit can change the default query param-mobile data terminals for CPD patrol to the 24th District. Ramsey issued a eters by specifying one or more sec-cars in 1992, which enabled patrol challenge to the development team: ondary classifications of the primaryofficers to query State and national Implement a system “that is so user- offense, changing the desired geo-stolen vehicle files. friendly even I can make a map.”18 graphic area, changing the date and The team focused its efforts on devel- time range, or specifying a particularIf computerized mapping could re- oping a system that, in terms of ease type of location.duce the number of auto thefts in of use, more closely resembles anChicago—where two-thirds of the automated teller machine (ATM) than The ability to map offenses meetingState’s auto thefts occur—IMVTPC standard office automation software. these criteria is a standard feature ofbelieved it could save the insurance In addition to changing ICAM’s hard- any map-based crime analysis system.industry millions of dollars each year. ware and software platforms,19 the What is unique about ICAM is theIMVTPC made the award even with team decided that ICAM would not way in which the user formulates thethe understanding that the mapping require use of a keyboard (in fact, query. By default, ICAM maps of-system would cover all crimes, not ICAM PC’s do not even have key- fenses occurring in the past 10 days.just those related to automobiles.16 boards). Instead, all user selections However, any date and time range can and commands would be issued with be selected (e.g., the past 2 days orFrom prototype to implementation. a mouse. midnight to 8 a.m. during the pastWith funding secured, Lewin and month). The simplicity of the methodSoltysiak, then joined by Gene Chin, In October 1994, an ICAM prototype for selecting a date and time rangea senior systems analyst in CPD’s was set up in the 24th District. By illustrates the efforts made by theData Systems Division, began devel- May 1995, ICAM was installed in all ICAM development team to ensureoping the mapping system. But after 25 districts. ICAM’s accessibility to officers.attending a workshop on using com- Since keyboards are not attached toputerized mapping for crime analysis ICAM PC’s, the traditional way ofat the Illinois Criminal Justice Infor- ICAM Features specifying a date and time range—mation Authority in August 1993, the When the ICAM computer is turned typing in the starting and ending datesteam realized that although many po- on, the main screen automatically and times—could not be used. Instead,lice departments had sophisticated appears (see “ICAM’s Query a calendar screen is displayed (seecrime mapping systems, no depart- Screens”). The two main tasks that “ICAM’s Query Screens”), and thement had a system that was accessible ICAM performs are indicated in the user simply clicks on the desiredto beat officers.17 Thus, the team had boxes containing the “Do It!” buttons: month, day, and year for both theto create a unique prototype. In late ICAM can produce a map of reported start and end dates. There is a similarsummer 1993, the development team offenses of a particular type in an area, screen for selecting the time range.set up its first model in CPD’s 24th or it can generate a list of the 10 mostDistrict. The results were disappoint- frequently reported offenses in a beat. After the user clicks “Do It!,” ICAMing. Beat officers found the system runs the query against the offensetoo complicated to use, and the 10 to ICAM allows a user to generate a map data file and displays on the screen15 minutes required to generate a map in as few as three mouse clicks. A both a map and a tabular view of thewas considered unacceptable. simple query can be modified in a offenses meeting the specified criteria6 National Institute of Justice

PROGRAM FOCUS(see “ICAM’s Information Screens”). icon, with all the different icons being and formulating another query. A listThe map displays the specified geo- shown in a map legend window. of the ten most frequently reportedgraphic area (e.g., district, sector, or offenses in a beat in the past 10beat), the streets in this geographic At this point, the user has several op- days—the “Top Ten” feature ofarea, the names of major streets, and tions (see exhibit 2, page 10), includ- ICAM—can be obtained with justicons showing the location of each ing printing the map or tabular view of three mouse clicks. The default timeoffense meeting the specified criteria. the data, displaying community data, period of 10 days can be changed byIf secondary offenses have been re- performing other geographic analyses, accessing the date and time selectionquested, each type will have a different or returning to the ICAM Main Screen screens. ICAM’s Query Screens From the ICAM Main Screen, the user can select the default setting to map the locations of all reported robberies occurring in the past 10 days in a district; the user simply has to: TO MAKE MAP: 1. Click on the primary offense scroll button to display the list of primary offenses. DO IT! 2. From the list of primary offenses, click on “robbery.” 3. Click on the button labeled “Do It!” TOP TEN The user could choose to pose a different query to obtain a list of the most frequently reported DO IT! offenses in a beat; in this instance, the user would: 1. Click on the “pick beat” scroll 8 20 95 8 30 95 button to display the list of beats in the district. 2. From the list of beats, click on the desired beat. 3. Click on the button labeled “Do It!” If the user wants to specify a different time and date range from the 10-day default period for the query, he or she moves to the following calendar screen and clicks on the time period desired. Program Focus 7

PROGRAM FOCUS Exhibit 1 ICAM’s Mapping Features: Query Components Component Options Primary Offense Only one primary offense can be selected per map. cost of entering the data. Fortunately, Secondary Offense For the selected primary offense, up to 10 secondary ICAM was able to “piggyback” onto classifications can be selected. For example, if robbery existing data-entry procedures in the is the primary offense and the secondary offenses are “with a knife” and “with a gun,” then only robberies districts to minimize costs. Data-entry with a knife or a gun are mapped. procedures are standardized. At 6 a.m. in each district, offense reports written Geographic Area The choices are the entire district, one sector, or one during the previous 24 hours are en- beat. The default selection is the entire district. tered in a PC-based data base pack- Date Range Both a start and end date are selected. The default age—a practice instituted long before selection is the past 10 days. ICAM for the purpose of producing Time of Day Range Both a start and end time are selected. For example, if district “24-hour” reports. To enhance the user is only interested in offenses occurring during the data consistency, the user selects the day shift, 800 to 1600 would be selected. The values from predefined lists rather default selection is all day. than simply typing in values. For example, if the offense is a burglary, Type of Location The type of location includes those categories listed on the CPD General Offense case report—examples the user selects “burglary” from the include on a bus, in an apartment, at a business, and at list of offenses rather than typing in a church. If “in an apartment” is selected, then only the word “burglary.” Once these data offenses occurring in apartments would be mapped. are entered, the data-entry clerk fol- The default selection is all types of locations. lows a three-step procedure: (1) executing a “geocode” routine on the data, during which the latitude and longitude of the location of each of-ICAM as contact persons to provide assis- fense are computed; (2) executing a tance to district personnel. Thus, theImplementation development team adopted a “train “copy” routine that extracts the of-and Training fense data and writes it to a diskette; the trainers” approach to ICAM and (3) executing a “load” routine that instruction.An official unveiling ceremony ac- copies the new offense data from thecompanied installation of ICAM at The development team also wrote an diskette to ICAM. These procedureseach of the city’s 25 districts as the ICAM users’ guide and prepared a ensure that ICAM data are, at most,development team introduced the one-page “Quick Map” instruction 24 hours old.system to district police officials sheet, which was posted next to theand residents during the period from The importance of the geocode step in ICAM PC’s in each district station.October 1994 to May 1995. Although this process should be emphasized. As The ICAM PC’s were placed in aICAM was designed for easy accessi- noted earlier, some addresses stored in common area (e.g., behind the districtbility, training in its use was still police files may be initially unmappa- desk), rather than being locked in anneeded by police officers at the district ble because the underlying street maps office, to make them accessible tostations. The ICAM development team are incomplete or inaccurate. A team police personnel around the clock.produced an 8-minute instructional of researchers from Loyola Universityvideo to be played during roll call at Quality of data. The availability of in Chicago encountered this problemall district stations. Detective Soltysiak timely and accurate data is key to in 1991 when they attempted to mapalso spent 2 days at each district sta- ICAM’s effective use. One of the the location of homicides in Chicagotion demonstrating ICAM to officers potential obstacles that police depart- using the U.S. Bureau of the Censusand training district administrative ments face in implementing computer- computerized street files (i.e., TIGERmanagers, who would then serve ized mapping systems is the added files). The researchers found missing8 National Institute of Justice

PROGRAM FOCUS ICAM’s Information Screens A query on criminal damage to vehicles would result in a map and tabular data.streets near the boundary of the city,unnamed and misnamed streets, andincorrect or missing address ranges.They corrected these problems andadded important landmarks to theTIGER files.20The researchers provided these im-proved files to the ICAM develop-ment team, who refined them evenfurther. About 95 percent of the of-fenses entered at the district stationsare geocoded automatically by thecomputer.21Use and Impactof ICAMICAM has fulfilled two of the keyrequirements for successfully imple-menting CAPS; it has provided: A query on the top ten offenses in one beat does not generate a map but, instead,s Police officers with an automated produces a simple list and graph.tool for analyzing timely and accuratecrime information.s An effective and convenientmechanism for sharing informationwith the community.Support for ICAM. As a result,ICAM has earned enthusiastic supportfrom high-ranking city and CPD offi-cials. Mayor Daley, who attended 10of the 25 district unveiling ceremoniesfor ICAM, has said, “ICAM is the bestthing to come from the police depart-ment in years.”22 CPD SuperintendentMatt Rodriguez has pointed to ICAMas the epitome of decentralized deci-sionmaking: “[ICAM] goes a longway to making the officer the chief ofpolice of his beat.”23 CAPS Co-ProjectDirectors Barbara McDonald andCharles Ramsey have seen ICAM Program Focus 9

PROGRAM FOCUS Exhibit 2 ICAM Mapping Features: Options Once the Query is Run Option Comment Panning and Zooming The section of the map shown on the screen can be moved in any direction (panning), or the distance across the displayed section of the map can be changed (zooming). View Details of Offenses A tabular view of the data is produced (see “ICAM’s Information Screens”). The data elements include: address, house or apartment number, case report number, crime code, primary offense classification, secondary offense classification, whether the offense is a Part 1 index crime, date, beat, start and end times, location code, type of location, number arrested, four analysis fields used to flag special offenses (e.g., domestic violence, gang-related offenses), offender description or name, vehicle make, vehicle model, vehicle year, and the beat in which the vehicle was taken. Print Map The map can be printed. A disclaimer is shown at the bottom of the printout indicating that the classification of the offense is based only on the facts known at the time the offense was reported (see exhibit 3). Printed maps can be shared with the community. Print Tabular View The tabular view of the data can be printed. However, because the offense information available of Data in ICAM is unverified, printed tabular views of the data are not shared with the community. Add Vacant Buildings The locations of vacant buildings can be added to the map. to the Map Add Schools to the Map The locations of schools can be added to the map. Add Establishments with The locations of establishments with liquor licenses can be added to the map. Liquor Licenses to the Map Add “EL” Stops to the The locations of Chicago Transit Authority elevated (EL) railway stops can be added to the map. Map Radius Select A list of all offenses within a specified distance from a specified location on the map can be generated (e.g., all offenses within 1,000 feet of a school) and displayed in a table. Area Select A list of all offenses within a specified beat within the sector or district can be generated and displayed in a table.as critical to the success of CAPS. percent use it rarely, if ever. One mea- in police departments is for crimeICAM, Ramsey said, has been “a sure of ICAM use—the number of analysis. Crime analysts use mappinglinchpin of the whole strategy.”24 queries run at each district (a query software to prepare crime alert bulle- results in either a map or a “Top Ten” tins and other reports. Because ofOf equal importance has been the re- list)—can be tracked. From June 26, ICAM’s simplicity, all CPD officersaction at the district stations. Although 1995, to July 25, 1995, a total of 6,689 have access to analytic tools that areno formal survey of officers has been queries were run citywide—an aver- unavailable to police officers in othertaken, in general, they have praised age of 223 queries per day citywide, departments. No determinations canthe simplicity of the system and said or 9 queries per day in each district. be made of the number of crimesit helps them in performing their jobs. Even more revealing is the increasing ICAM has helped to resolve, but anec- use of the system over time. The num- dotes of ICAM’s effectiveness as aData on ICAM usage. The actual ber of queries in the period’s fourth crime-solving tool for CPD are plenti-number of CPD officers who are using week was 34 percent higher than in ful (see “ICAM in Action”).ICAM is not known. The development the first week.team estimated that 20 percent of all ICAM also helps beat officers to makeofficers use ICAM regularly, 60 per- Crime analysis. In general, the most decisions about their work plans. Of-cent use ICAM occasionally, and 20 common use of computerized mapping ficer Valeria Mac, a beat officer in the10 National Institute of Justice

PROGRAM FOCUS Photo by Jonathan Cohon24th District, said she regularly usesICAM as an aid in deciding where toconcentrate her foot patrol activities.When Mac returns to her beat aftera few days off, she prints out ICAMmaps so she can see where crimeswere committed.Beat meetings. Since the success ofCAPS depends on police-communitypartnerships, beat meetings are a pri-mary mechanism for soliciting com-munity involvement. These meetings,which occur regularly in each ofCPD’s 279 beats, are intended to be“the forums in which officers andresidents jointly develop plans for Members of the ICAM development team check out the program.tackling neighborhood problems.”25The cornerstone to developing strate- routinely distributes ICAM maps at whether the problems are recurring.26gies that address neighborhood prob- beat meetings, has noted, “everybody Warren Friedman, of CANS, a long-lems is the availability of timely and likes the maps.” In one beat, commu- time advocate of police-communityaccurate information on their nature nity residents had already been pro- partnerships, is pleased that CPD nowand extent. ICAM is helping to fulfill ducing hand-drawn maps, so they routinely shares information with thethis information need as officers rou- were especially appreciative of ICAM. community. ICAM “helps to facilitatetinely bring maps to meetings and In many beats, community residents discussions with the police depart-distribute them to residents (see ex- call Officer Mullen prior to the meet- ment,” Friedman says. But he cautionshibit 3). However, the tabular view ings and request that she bring certain that it is too early to tell if the tech-of the data, available to officers using maps, particularly those depicting nique will help residents develop moreICAM, is not made public because it offenses that residents find most effective and appropriate strategies tois not fully verified (i.e., ICAM con- problematic. combat neighborhood problems.27tains information recorded on the ini-tial offense report that has not yet In many districts, ICAM is relatively Court Advocacy project. ICAM isbeen validated by detectives or other new, so the impact of ICAM-produced important to another component offollowup investigators). In addition, maps among residents is still un- community involvement in CAPS—exact street addresses of the offenses known. Also unknown is the extent to the Court Advocacy project. Courtare excluded to prevent identification which residents are using ICAM to Advocacy units exist in every policeof victims. However, the maps allow develop new strategies for improving district. Their purpose is to “identifyresidents to see the approximate loca- their neighborhoods. A recent CANS crime problems within their policetions where offenses occurred and publication encouraged residents at- districts—especially those...whichprovide an overall understanding of tending beat meetings to take advan- negatively impact upon quality ofcrime in the area. tage of the maps to prioritize life—and to follow those cases in neighborhood problems, develop and court in order to actively participateOne neighborhood relations officer in plan a strategy for addressing prob- in and have an effect on the criminalthe 24th District, Athena Mullen, who lems, and, later, use ICAM to assess justice process. The intended out- Program Focus 11

PROGRAM FOCUS ICAM in Action Anecdotes of how ICAM has been used to and residents were able to recover their s Tactical officers in the 24th District help solve crimes include the following: stolen property, which had been stored in received a complaint from residents that the home of one teenager. drugs were being sold at a particular street s In March 1995, three officers in the corner. Using ICAM to check crime con- 10th District caught three teenagers in the s In the 22nd District, officers learned of ditions at that corner, the officers found act of burglarizing a home.28 The sur- a rash of burglaries occurring at schools there had been numerous prostitution ar- rounding area recently had experienced a and used ICAM to map the exact locations rests, but no drug activity. Further check- rash of burglaries, and the officers sus- of these burglaries and determine patterns ing revealed that one particular female— pected that the teenagers were responsible about the times they were occurring. Of- who matched the description provided by for many of them. The teenagers con- ficers then established surveillance at the residents—had been arrested several times fessed to committing several of the bur- appropriate times and locations and soon at this corner. In this case, ICAM revealed glaries, but they could not remember the arrested a burglar as he was fleeing a the true nature of a suspected problem in addresses of the homes. Back at the district school. a neighborhood. station, the officers used ICAM to gener- s In the 3rd District, residents at a beat ate a map and a list of all burglaries occur- s In the 7th District, an ICAM map ring in the past 6 months in the general meeting complained about an increase in showed that the locations of recovered vicinity of where the teenagers were oper- criminal activity. Using ICAM, officers stolen vehicles were clustered around spe- ating. With the map and list as a guide, spotted an area in the beat that had experi- cific abandoned buildings. Armed with the officers then drove the teenagers to enced an increase in burglaries and robber- this information, police officials worked specific homes to determine which ones ies. Tactical officers set up surveillance with the city’s Department of Planning to they had burglarized. With just a few and arrested three offenders for armed expedite demolition of the buildings. hours’ work, 11 burglaries were cleared, robbery.comes...include: encouraging police/ Current ICAM limitations. Although CPD plans to expand usage and train-citizen participation in fighting crime ICAM represents a major improve- ing while making major revisions to[thus] sending a strong message to ment in information delivery systems the system.judges, prosecutors and others in the for CPD, its capabilities are still lim-criminal justice system that the com- ited. Reported offenses are the only Future ICAMmunity is involved and watching.”29 police data that can be mapped—data on calls for service and arrests are not EnhancementsEileen Donnersberger, manager of the included in the system. Moreover, the A new CPD directive being imple-Court Advocacy project, sees ICAM offense classification is based only on mented in 1996 requires beat officersas “a useful tool for deciding what the facts known at the time the offense to bring ICAM maps to monthly beattypes of cases to follow.”30 For ex- was reported. If, after further investi- meetings. ICAM is also being in-ample, an ICAM map might show a gation, the classification changes, a cluded in the CPD training academyseries of prostitution offenses occur- modification would not be reflected in curriculum, so that candidates will bering at a particular intersection; track- ICAM. In addition, only one offense instructed on its use. Other enhance-ing these cases through the criminal can be mapped at a time; a map show- ments planned for ICAM will makejustice system might be an effective ing the locations of burglaries and it more accessible to the public andstrategy for addressing the prostitution drug offenses, for example, cannot be to the CPD command staff.problem at that site. Use of ICAM in generated. Finally, district personnelCourt Advocacy units is still new, but can map offenses occurring only ICAM 2. The overhaul of ICAM be-Donnersberger sees ICAM as having within their district. A host of reasons gan in September 1995 with a new“tremendous potential.” While the account for these limitations, including system dubbed ICAM 2. As CAPSadvocacy units currently rely on CPD time and resource constraints and the Co-Project Director Barbarato provide them with ICAM maps, requirement that the system be as McDonald explained:they will soon have direct access to simple as possible to use. Recognizingthe system. ICAM’s successes and limitations,12 National Institute of Justice

PROGRAM FOCUS Exhibit 3 Burglary Offenses in Sector 2 (39*) at Residences W. Juneway Ter. N. E N. Damen Ave. a stlak The current version of ICAM has eTer. fulfilled its original purpose and N. C W. Howard St. has achieved national exposure as lark N. Ridge Ave. an innovative, cutting-edge law | | | | | St. | enforcement application. It contin- | | ues to assist in the day-to-day | W. Jarvis Ave. | | | | | | | | | | | problem-solving activities of po- | W. Jarvis Ave. Touhy | lice officers and members of the | Park W. Chase | community and is a critical com- | | ponent of the CAPS model, pro- W. Touhy Ave. | | | | | | | viding useful information directly ve . Loyola sA W. Estes Ave. Park to the hands of users. However, g er Ro W. Greenleaf Ave. we now propose a complete over- N. N. Wolcott Ave. haul of the ICAM system. When | | | | | | | | W. Lunt Ave. N. Ravenswood Ave. complete, the new system will be N. Sheridan Rd. N. Glenwood Ave. N. Ashland Ave. N. Paulina St. known as ICAM 2. It will become W. Morse Ave. more powerful, more flexible, more useful, and more innovative than the current version, yet [it] will become even easier to use.31 W. Pratt Ave. 33 Burglary Crimes 00:00 08/01/95-23:59 08/29/95Superintendent Rodriguez subsequent- Forcible Entry (27)ly approved the ICAM 2 development Unlawful Entry No Force (8)plan. ICAM 2 made its debut in May Attempt Forcible Entry (4)1996 in the 3rd and 12th Districts,and citywide installation should be *This data reflects initial case classification based on facts known at the time the incident wascompleted by October 1996.32 Key reported. It may be revised at a later time.enhancements include:s Increased public access to kiosks in the city, which provide (via a not have access to the Internet at theirICAM. Because ICAM terminals touch screen) information on city ser- home or office can access the CAPSare located in secured parts of each vices and the CAPS program. A proto- Web page at the city’s public libraries.district station and certain information type touch-screen version of ICAMavailable in ICAM cannot be revealed was recently demonstrated in the 19th s Increased police access to ICAM.to the community (e.g., the address District, and an 85-year-old resident ICAM was initially designed as a toolwhere the offense occurred), the sys- (who had never before used a com- for beat officers. Under ICAM 2, of-tem is not directly accessible to the puter) generated a crime map of her ficers and detectives assigned to gang,public. A modified version of ICAM, neighborhood in less than 1 minute. narcotics, and youth units also willone with certain features disabled and have access to the maps. A modifiedsome data elements blocked out, is In addition, a modified version of version of ICAM—the Commandbeing developed to be made available ICAM will be available on the Internet Information System—will be devel-through two new and innovative ways. via the World Wide Web. Chicago oped for the CPD’s command staff toOne is through public information currently has a “Web page” that is a support police planning at the sector,kiosks. Chicago currently has 50 such comprehensive source of information district, area, and citywide levels. on CAPS.34 Chicago residents who do Program Focus 13

PROGRAM FOCUS s Analysis capabilities. of the ICAM approach are clear, par- ICAM 2 will vastly improve ticularly for departments implement- the system’s analytical capa- ing community policing. Since com- bilities. It will allow officials munity policing depends on individual to perform temporal analyses officers taking the initiative to solve (e.g., track changes in the problems and having residents become level of crime over time in active partners in this effort, access different geographic areas), to timely and accurate information is exhibit families of offenses essential. While developing an ICAM on a single map (e.g., crimes system costs more than an “analyst- against persons or crimes only” system,37 members of CPD, against property), map of- from the Superintendent to beat offi- fenses occurring within a cers, strongly urge other departments specified distance of a speci- to consider developing a system that fied location (e.g., produce a gives officers this direct access. map of drug offenses occurring within 1,000 feet of aPhoto by Jonathan Cohon Notes particular school), and map 1 “hot spots” of criminal activ- Rich, Thomas F. 1995. The Use of Com- puterized Mapping in Crime Control and ity.36 The challenge for the Prevention Programs. Research in Action. ICAM development team Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice. will be to provide these new NCJ 155182. features while preserving 2 the system’s user-friendly Personal interview with Sergeant Mark At public kiosks, Chicago citizens can learn about city Stallo, Dallas Police Department, in October services; soon they will be able to obtain ICAM maps. nature. 1995. 3 ICAM will eventually be installed on Implications for Other Personal interview with Officer Angelo Morton, Los Angeles Police Department, in laptop computers in CPD patrol cars. Police Departments October 1995. s Access to more information. Police departments considering a com- 4 Rodriguez, Matt L. 1993. Together We Can. The initial version of ICAM allowed puterized mapping system have two Chicago: Chicago Police Department, p. 13. officers to access only offenses in their broad design options: employing 5 The CPD divides the city into five areas; particular district and a limited set of trained analysts to produce maps for areas are divided into districts; districts are nonpolice data. But the implementation officers or developing a system similar divided into sectors; and sectors are divided of a new citywide 911 emergency com- to ICAM. In the first scenario, trained into beats. There are 279 beats in the city. The munications system and fiber optic net- analysts use commercially available size of beats ranges from 0.31 to 2.54 square work will link all police facilities and miles, with the average size being 0.82 square mapping software to either produce a miles. Eight to nine officers are assigned to many city agencies, allowing ICAM 2 to set of prespecified maps on a periodic each beat, with one or two on duty at any access citywide information from sev- basis or respond to ad hoc requests by given time. eral data bases, including calls for ser- officers for maps. 6 vice and arrests.35 Offense data in ICAM Responsibility for responding to calls for 2 also will be more accurate, including service within a beat is shared between rapid The second option allows officers to response units and beat officers. Rapid updated information on offense classi- produce their own maps. The benefits response units patrol and respond to calls fication and case status. for service throughout a sector. 14 National Institute of Justice

PROGRAM FOCUS7 17 28 The two reports are: Chicago Community This conclusion is consistent with the This story was featured on Chicago Crime-Policing Evaluation Consortium. 1994. findings of a recent NIJ assessment of Watch ‘95, the CPD’s cable television programCommunity Policing in Chicago, Year One: computerized mapping in crime control and (Karl Productions, Show No. 25, May 1995).An Interim Report. Chicago: Illinois Criminal prevention programs. See Rich, 1995. 29Justice Information Authority; and Chicago Chicago Community Policing Evaluation 18Community Policing Evaluation Consortium. Personal interview with Deputy Superinten- Consortium. 1995, p. 75.1995. Community Policing in Chicago, Year dent Charles H. Ramsey in August 1995. 30Two: An Interim Report. Chicago: Illinois Personal interview with Eileen Donners- 19Criminal Justice Information Authority. The development team decided to change berger in September 1995. the hardware platform from Sun Unix work 318Chicago Community Policing Evaluation stations to PC’s running Microsoft Windows. July 27, 1995, memorandum from CAPSConsortium. 1995, p. 79. This improved both the speed and ease of Co-Project Director Barbara McDonald to use of the system. Microsoft Visual Basic, Superintendent Matt Rodriguez.9 Criminal Justice Newsletter. 1995. MapInfo for Windows, and MapBasic for 32Community Policing in Chicago Gets High Windows were used to develop ICAM. Many of the key enhancements are beingMarks From Evaluators. Washington, DC: funded with a grant from the Justice Depart-Pace Publications. Volume 26, Number 16. 20 Block, Richard. 1993. “Geocoding of ment’s Community Oriented Policing ServicesAugust 15, 1995. Crime Incidents Using the 1990 TIGER File: (COPS) office. The Chicago Example” in Proceedings of 3310 Rodriguez, 1993, p. 17. the Workshop on Crime Analysis through The icons do not necessarily equal the Computer Mapping. Chicago: Illinois number of incidents because more than one11 Rodriguez, 1993, p. 25. Criminal Justice Information Authority. incident occurred at the same address. 3412 Maltz, Michael D., Gordon, Andrew C., 21 For ICAM and most other mapping applica- Chicago’s Web page can be accessed byand Friedman, Warren. 1989. Mapping Crime tions, geocoding is a two-phase process. pointing a Web browser toin Its Community Setting: A Study in Event During the “automated” phase, the mapping http://www.ci.chi.il.us.Geography. Washington, DC: National software attempts to assign geographic 35Institute of Justice, p. vi. coordinates (e.g., latitude and longitude) to In light of CAPS, including calls for service as many addresses as possible. Next, during in ICAM is particularly important, since calls13 Personal interview with Warren Friedman in the “manual” phase, the user examines those for service often more closely reflect citizenAugust 1995. addresses not geocoded during the automated concerns regarding fear and disorder than phase one-by-one and attempts to geocode as reported offenses.14 Block, Carolyn Rebecca, and Richard many as possible. With ICAM, 95 percent of 36Block. 1993. Street Gang Crime in Chicago. offenses are geocoded during the automated ICAM 2 will eventually integrate a softwareResearch in Brief. Washington, DC: National phase. After the manual phase, virtually all package called STAC, developed by research-Institute of Justice. NCJ 144782. the offenses are geocoded. ers at the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, which locates clusters of criminal15 From this effort, the researchers developed 22 July 27, 1995, memorandum from CAPS activity in an area.a handbook that describes the data that could Co-Project Director Barbara McDonald to 37be included in a geographic data base or a CPD Superintendent Matt Rodriguez. The ICAM development team had to writegeoarchive. See Block, Carolyn Rebecca, and software to allow officers to formulate a queryLynn A. Green, The Geoarchive Handbook: A 23 Personal interview with Superintendent Matt and to manipulate the generated maps. TheGuide for Developing a Geographic Database Rodriguez in August 1995. development team recommends that otheras an Information Foundation for Community police departments allow four person-monthsPolicing. Chicago: Illinois Criminal Justice 24 Personal interview with Deputy Superinten- of time for this software development, assum-Information Authority, August 1994. dent Charles Ramsey in August 1995. ing the police department has or can gain access to skilled programmers. Development16 Personal interview with Gerard Ramker 25 Chicago Community Policing Evaluation of ICAM required expertise in Visual Basicand Mark Mattozzi of the Illinois Motor Consortium. 1995, p. 26. (Microsoft Corporation), MapInfo forVehicle Theft Prevention Council. IMVTPC Windows (MapInfo Corporation), and Map- 26believed that if the 50,000 annual auto thefts Hennelly, John. 1995. “You Can ICAM” in Basic for Windows (MapInfo Corporation).in Chicago could be reduced by 10 percent, Neighborhoods. Chicago: Chicago Alliance This time estimate does not include time toa $24 million savings could be realized for Neighborhood Safety. Summer 1995. develop systems requirements or to test and(assuming a $4,800 insurance industry cost install the system. 27per stolen vehicle). Personal interview with Warren Friedman in August 1995. Program Focus 15

On the Cover: Using the ICAM sys- About This Study tem, a police officer generates a map of crime offenses in his district. (Photo This Program Focus was written by Interviews were also conducted with by Jonathan Cohon) Thomas F. Rich, an associate in the law Warren Friedman, executive director, and public policy area of Abt Associ- Chicago Alliance for Neighborhood This report was supported by Research Ap- ates Inc. Interviews for this article were Safety; Richard Block, Loyola Univer- plications contract #OJP–94–C–007 from conducted with the following members the National Institute of Justice to Abt Asso- sity of Chicago; Carolyn Block, Illinois ciates Inc. Points of view and opinions in this of the Chicago Police Department: Criminal Justice Information Authority; document are those of the authors and do not Jill DuBois, Chicago Community Polic- necessarily reflect the official position or Matt Rodriguez, superintendent; ing Evaluation Consortium; Eileen policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. Charles Ramsey, deputy superintendent; Donnersberger, project manager, Court Barbara McDonald, director, research Advocacy Project, City of Chicago; and development; Officer Jonathan Sergeant Mark Stallo, Dallas Police The National Institute of Justice is a compo- Lewin; Detective Larry Soltysiak; Gene Department; Officer Angelo Morton, nent of the Office of Justice Programs, which Chin, senior systems analyst; and the Los Angeles Police Department; and the also includes the Bureau of Justice Assis- following staff from the 24th District— following staff from the Illinois Motor tance, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Commander Thomas Byrne, Officer Vehicle Theft Prevention Council— Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Preven- Valeria Mac, Officer Athena Mullen, Gerard Ramker and Mark Mattozzi. tion, and the Office for Victims of Crime. and Officer Jerry Martin. NCJ 160764 July 1996U.S. Department of Justice BULK RATEOffice of Justice Programs POSTAGE & FEES PAIDNational Institute of Justice DOJ/NIJ Permit No. G–91Washington, DC 20531Official BusinessPenalty for Private Use $300

The Chicago Police Department’s Information Collection for Automated Mapping (ICAM) Program

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The Chicago Police Department’s Information Collection for Automated Mapping (ICAM) Program — Document Transcript