The intersection of community and public safety is at a pivotal moment in time. As technologists partnering with departments nationwide, we recognize the challenges in traditional policing approaches. These methods sometimes struggle to address the full spectrum of modern public safety needs, affecting both resource allocation and community relationships. However, we're witnessing an exciting transformation–precision policing.
Precision policing: A data-driven law enforcement strategy that leverages technology and actionable context to proactively address specific criminal activity while minimizing unnecessary community impact.
Criminal activity isn't entirely random—it follows identifiable trends and patterns that highlight the need for more focused and strategic approaches to public safety. Research from the National Network for Safer Communities and academic journals reveals striking concentrations of criminal activity:
These patterns hold true across cities and time periods, making a powerful case against broad enforcement strategies and shows us why the time for precision policing is now. When such a small number of locations and individuals drive most crime, generalized patrols and blanket enforcement waste resources and strain community relations. Understanding these concentrations enables departments to shift toward focused, effective interventions that minimize impact on law-abiding citizens.
Understanding these crime patterns reveals a clear opportunity: by shifting from broad enforcement to focused interventions, departments can maximize their impact while minimizing community disruption.
This insight forms the foundation of precision policing's three core pillars.
When these pillars work together, they transform both law enforcement operations and community relations. For departments facing staffing shortages—with 78% reporting recruitment difficulties—this technology-enabled approach means working smarter, not harder. Officers enter situations better informed and better prepared, while communities experience fewer unnecessary interactions. The result is more effective crime prevention and stronger police-community trust.
The concept of precision policing isn't new, but its moment has truly arrived–mostly due to critical advancements in technology, shifting community expectations, and evolving policy priorities.
These developments create a unique moment in time where departments now have the tools, trust, and urgent motivation needed to successfully implement precision policing on a broad scale.
No department better illustrates this evolution than the NYPD. In 2014, the department faced a crisis familiar to many agencies: rising violence, plummeting community trust, and the failure of mass enforcement strategies. Their stop-and-frisk policy had led to 680,000 stops in 2011—up from 97,000 in 2002—yet crime rates remained stubborn.
Under Police Commissioner William Bratton's leadership, the NYPD pioneered a new approach combining intelligence-led investigation with data-driven analysis to target prolific offenders and crime hot spots. The results were dramatic:
Precision policing is a fundamental shift in how we approach public safety. By focusing resources where they matter most while building community trust through professional, precise enforcement, departments can achieve better results with fewer resources. As technology continues to evolve, this approach will only become more powerful, offering a clear path to more effective, efficient, and community-focused law enforcement.
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As explored in part 1 of our series, precision policing is a data-driven approach to public safety, transforming law enforcement by enabling departments to focus on specific criminal activity while minimizing community disruption. But how are departments actually implementing these strategies?
Let's explore how departments are practically implementing precision policing through integrated technology and proven strategies.
Consider this scenario: Saturday, 2:15 PM. A retail theft occurs at a local retailer. The suspect flees in a White Ford F150. The stark difference between traditional and precision policing becomes immediately apparent in the response.
The traditional response:
A radio call crackles across the city. Multiple patrol units scatter, stopping every black White Ford F150 they encounter. Each stop creates unnecessary tension—a parent late picking up their child, an anxious driver questioned without cause, or a routine stop potentially escalating into an unintended confrontation, eroding community trust. By day's end, a dozen community members have been stopped while the actual suspect remains at large.
The precision response:
A Prepared 911 AI-assisted call taker quickly captures detailed vehicle descriptions from multiple callers. Real-time crime center personnel use Flock Safety cameras to track the suspect’s route, while the ForceMetrics platform aggregates history, known associates, and behavioral patterns through its Velocity platform. A drone provides discreet surveillance as officers—armed with real-time analytics and safety indicators—move to intercept the suspect. Meanwhile, personnel begin developing leads on a broader organized retail theft operation.
The result: a swift, targeted intervention with no unnecessary stops, minimal risk, and new leads that could disrupt broader retail theft operations.
The stark contrast between the broad police response to crime versus the precision response illustrates how technology and data integration can transform today’s police response processes. Through our work with agencies nationwide, we've identified three pillars that form the foundation of modern precision policing:
Advanced dispatch systems have revolutionized emergency response times. Prepared 911 delivers instant translation across 30+ languages for voice and 140+ for text, while integrated CAD systems provide immediate context. For example, Ventura County cut call processing from 77 seconds to mere seconds by integrating RapidSOS alerts with their CentralSquare CAD system. In Baltimore, similar upgrades enabled 100% quality assurance coverage of calls, up from just 20% previously.
Research indicates that only a small percentage of gunfire incidents are reported via 911 calls in areas affected by gun violence, leaving most incidents unaddressed. SoundThinking's ShotSpotter technology addresses this gap by detecting incidents otherwise unreported, as demonstrated in Oakland, where it directed police to 386 gunshot victims from 2020 to 2023 without corresponding 911 calls.
Meanwhile, drones from companies like Skydio equipped with thermal imaging and high-resolution cameras are transforming crime scene documentation and search-and-rescue operations. In 27 reported incidents, drones facilitated the rescue of 65 individuals, underscoring their potential in life-saving missions. These tools not only speed up investigations but also enhance the accuracy and utility of collected data.
The Camden County Police Department exemplifies community integration through their Interactive Community Alert Network (ICAN). Residents control 360-degree cameras, report crimes anonymously, and monitor neighborhood activity in real-time, creating a direct link between community concerns and police response.
Effective policing requires accessible data, yet most departments struggle with siloed systems that don't communicate effectively (i.e. radio logs, CAD systems, RMS databases, Jail systems, camera footage). It’s often assumed these systems automatically "talk" to each other, but departments frequently contend with legacy systems and incompatible software that impede basic information-sharing.
This fragmentation blocks real-time access to critical insights, impeding response effectiveness and leaving valuable intelligence untapped. Advanced integration platforms are essential to transform these disconnected sources into unified, actionable intelligence for improved decision-making, resource allocation, and predictive capabilities.
At the patrol level, this transforms daily operations. Officers begin shifts armed with comprehensive intelligence about their areas of responsibility. Platforms like ForceMetrics enhance this capability, providing instant access to photos, warrants, and known associations of frequent offenders, while analytics help identify emerging patterns before they become trends.
The Arlington Police Department's implementation of precision policing demonstrates the transformative potential of this approach. Through Operation Safety Net, the department executed a carefully planned rollout across five high-priority zones, integrating multiple specialized units including SWAT, crime analysis, and tactical intelligence.
Strategic collaboration with federal agencies, including the U.S. Marshals and ATF, significantly enhanced their operational capabilities. The department's commitment to comprehensive metrics tracking revealed impressive results:
Similar success stories have emerged nationwide. In Philadelphia, precision policing strategies reduced violent crime by 40%. Focused deterrence programs in Cincinnati and Chicago have yielded equally impressive results, all without the displacement of criminal activity to surrounding areas.
While the benefits of precision policing are clear, successful implementation requires a systematic approach. Departments that have successfully made this transition have focused on five key areas that form the foundation of a sustainable precision policing program:
Any update to processes and/or technologies in public safety requires a thoughtful and systematic approach to implementation in order to enable departments to create a solid foundation for precision policing. Success comes from careful planning and execution across all of these areas.
The future of policing demands precision and community focus. As departments nationwide face increasing challenges with fewer resources, precision policing offers a proven path forward. Through thoughtful implementation of these strategies and technologies, departments can achieve what once seemed impossible: more effective enforcement with less community impact.
The tools and frameworks exist. The results are proven. The only question remaining is: when will your department make the transition? Contact ForceMetrics today to learn how our integrated platform can bring your agency into the new era of precision policing.