Any good cop worth his salt will tell you that their instincts are a big part of the job. If something feels off it’s usually worth checking out. But several Burlington County police departments are turning to their computers a little more to effectively deploy law enforcement officers and other resources to better help the communities they serve.
The Evesham Township Police Department — along with Mt. Laurel, Burlington City, and Burlington Township — announced last week in a press conference that they will begin the implementation of a Data-Driven Approach to Crime and Traffic Safety (DDACTS) in their departments.
The program integrates location-based crime and traffic crash data to determine the most effective methods for deploying law enforcement and other resources. Drawing on the deterrent value of highly visible traffic enforcement and the knowledge that crimes often involve motor vehicles; the goal of DDACTS is to reduce crime, crashes, and traffic violations within each of the townships, according to Burlington County Prosecutor Robert D. Bernardi.
“Basically, DDACTS is a new philosophy of policing. They found there’s a correlation between high areas of crime and high areas of traffic problems, such as crashes and motor vehicle violations. Basically through DDACTS we’ll look at crime statistics, traffic enforcement statistics, and identify hot spots areas. We’ll deploy officers to those areas at a higher rater,” Lt. Walt Miller of the Evesham Police Department said. “You’re trying to get more done with less. We’ll be starting the new national program at the beginning of 2012.”
The program won’t cost the police department anything, Miller said, and will hopefully make Evesham a safer place to live.
