While many Canadian police services use Geographic Information System (GIS) for crime mapping, Beat Tracker is the first interactive mapping service provided to front-line police officers via the Intranet.

"One of the most challenging tasks facing any police service is the ability to access timely and accurate data about our neighbourhoods, beats and divisions to allow for more effective patrol and problem-solving strategies," said Hamilton Chief of Police, Brian Mullan. "Now, Beat Tracker will help us provide that critical element of success - timely and accurate intelligence."

With Beat Tracker, all members of the Hamilton Police Service can access current and easy-to-interpret data via the Intranet. Hamilton officers can obtain beat-specific information on crime such as break and enters, drugs, mischief, robberies, stolen autos and theft. Timeframes of 24 and 48 hours, one week and up to one year are available. The data is returned in a comprehensive mapped format. Officers can custom make their own maps based on the information they want to see.

"When officers report for duty, with Beat Tracker they can easily get a picture of what's been happening in their beat and then adjust their patrol strategies to fit," said Superintendent John Petz. "Using this technology our police officers can gain access to crime information quickly, identify hot areas where crime is common and respond efficiently and effectively. The data is returned so fast that what used to take hours now takes seconds."

In 1999, HPS made a commitment to intelligence-led policing which is a policing model that uses information and analysis with investigation to combat crime. Timely, accurate data that is available to all members promotes this policing model.

Beat Tracker is part of the HPS' GIS and Crime Mapping Project. There are two other important components. First, there is an advanced tool for the Hamilton Police Corporate Planning branch to perform strategic analysis to support organizational change such as beat realignment, map editing and data mining. Second, the geo-spatial analytical tool for division Crime Analysts is used to perform a more involved analysis to address root problems. These two components will soon be fully operational.

The Beat Tracker interface was developed with ESRI Canada. ESRI Canada is a Canadian owned company specializing in geographic information systems (GIS). ESRI's GIS software uses geography and computer-generated maps as an interface for integrating and accessing massive amounts of location-based information. GIS allows law enforcement and criminal justice personnel to effectively plan for emergency response, determine priorities, analyze historical events, and predict future events. GIS can also be used to get critical information to emergency responders upon dispatch or while en route to an incident to assist in tactical planning and response.

"GIS has been embraced by professionals in all areas of law enforcement for conducting day-to-day operations as well as for planning, analysis, and decision support," said Alex Miller, President, ESRI Canada. "The Hamilton Police Service is taking great strides to support their officers in the field by deploying web mapping via wireless technology. Beat Tracker provides a visual means of displaying spatial data, allowing the Hamilton Police Service to integrate and leverage their data for more informed decision making in the field."

Hamilton Police Service provides policing services to over 512,000 residents. As the sixth largest police service in Ontario, it deploys 720 police officers and 263 civilian members. In 2004, HPS responded to over 84,800 calls for service and handled 40,541 reported offences. Considered a leader in policing, it has also been recognized as one of Canada's Top 100 Employers for the last three consecutive years. For more information on HPS, please visit http://www.hamiltonpolice.on.ca/.

Media Contact:
Heather Adams
Communications Specialist
ESRI Canada
T: 416-386-6463
E: hadams@esricanada.com  

Superintendent John Petz
Hamilton Police Service
T: 905-546-4945