Urban Strategies Council and Oakland Police Department develop smarter policing

Following a two-year pilot program sponsored by Council member Desley Brooks, and with the support of Chief Anthony Batts, Urban Strategies Council has come on board to assist the Oakland Police Department with crime mapping and analysis in late 2010, helping the entire department develop new crime prevention tactics, usable mapping, and resource management. Junious Williams, the CEO, said, “This type of public-private partnership is critically important to effectively tackling social problems like crime. We look forward to establishing similar partnerships with other public agencies.”

The OPD Area Commander for East Oakland, Ersie Joyner, had this to say about the partnership: “With the reduction of staff and increase in crime it has become apparent that we must employ 21st century crime fighting techniques to deal with 21st century crime. Urban Strategies Council has become the foundation for every strategic move I make. This partnership exemplifies what we are trying to be in this city; innovative!”

Since the inception of this partnership, the first in the entire state, the Council has been delivering valuable crime analysis and mapping to key police personnel on a weekly basis. This intelligence is tailored to meet the distinct needs of Oakland law enforcement and supports dozens of senior department staff and beat officers on the job.

All publicly released products developed in this partnership are available online. You can view articles, maps and research focusing on:

Hot Spot Policing - intelligence-led policing requires reliable, actionable information for decision making and strategy

Beat level crime summaries and maps - to help guide planning, examine trends and regional shifts in crime