As the Charleston Police Department continues to hone its crime fighting capabilities, it is working with computer giant IBM on a new way to predict when and where crime will occur.
Charleston Police announced Monday they are using what’s called “predictive analytics” software to identify crime hot spots. Law enforcement officials say criminals have predictable patterns and the new software is supposed to be able to detect those patterns.
The hope is that the new software will be able to prevent crime and increase public safety. “Criminals continue to evolve and so must we,” said Charleston Police Chief Greg Mullen.
While the initial focus of the project is to reduce robberies, the CPD plans to broaden the scope to help the department be more effective in “hotspot” policing. By centralizing of all the information the CPD has at its disposal– including analyzing past and present criminal data and patterns– the department believes it will have a better view of where crime is trending. Mullen said that will allow officers to be better deployed to prevent crimes before they occur.
Sheree Bernardi of Charleston affiliate WTMA contributed to this report
