Data Drive Approaches to Crime and Traffic Safety (DDACTS)

About the Program

Category: Criminal Justice and Public Safety (Best in Category)

Year: 2010

Data Driven Approaches to Crime and Traffic Safety (DDACTS) is a law enforcement operational model. DDACTS integrates location-based crime and traffic crash data to establish effective and efficient methods for deploying law enforcement and other resources. Using geo-mapping to identify areas through temporal and spatial analysis, DDACTS employs targeted traffic enforcement strategies in areas that have high incidences of crime and vehicular crashes. By saturating such locations with highly visible traffic enforcement, DDACTS communities play two simultaneous roles: fighting crime, in addition to reducing traffic accidents and traffic violations. Through the use of existing resources, the Police Department was able to assign 1,005 hours of on-duty enforcement time to these targeted areas on a weekly basis. The level of enforcement conducted during this program was significant. Over 65,000 enforcement contracts were made, resulting in 1,169 arrests ranging from impaired driving and other traffic violations to robbery, weapons, drugs and outstanding warrants. Drawing on the deterrent value of highly visible traffic enforcement and the knowledge that crimes involve the use of motor vehicles, the goal of DDACTS is to reduce the incidence of crime, crashes and traffic violations in communities throughout the county.