York Regional Police (YRP) in Ontario will launch a new crime mapping software tool — the first of its kind in Canada — this year that provides a picture of all known offenders and criminal activity in an officer's area.
The YRP have been running a pilot program that provides its officers and analysts with information about patrol areas, including instances of break and enters and the presence of high-risk offenders. The software, called Active Operating Picture (AOP), also supports bail compliance checks and ensures suspended drivers adhere to their conditions.
Greg Stanisci, assistant manager of YRP's Strategic Services Bureau, says the software — developed with Latitude Geographics — provides an additional layer of safety for officers and the community.
"Officers are now able to view all offenders who live in a neighbourhood, including those charged by other police agencies, on the AOP map with the click of a button,
" says Stanisci. "This enables them to determine if there are any high-risk offenders living in the area where a warrant is going to be executed. Officers have never had easy access to that kind information before.
"
That includes records of people who are on conditions in the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) database, which is administered by the RCMP.
Before AOP, that type of offender information would be accessed through CPIC. However, an off-line search would be required to conduct an analysis of a neighbourhood. Now, in York Region, that data can be accessed almost instantaneously through the AOP, which is available on the cruiser laptop or a mobile device.
CPIC provides weekly updates to YRP.
Analyst Dawn Murray Lubbers collects and transmits the material to the YRP.
"We provide them with accurate and updated information on a weekly basis of offenders in their jurisdiction that are added to CPIC,
" says Lubbers.
She explained the software reminds officers to confirm any CPIC information prior to taking any enforcement measures.
The AOP software is expected to be fully operational in the first half of 2018.