IBM is working towards becoming the “convener of the eco-system of public safety”

Today at the IACP Conference in San Diego, The IBM team including the i2 Group announced a new initiative to promote the higher level of intelligence analysis – calling it the IBM i2 Intelligent Law Enforcement platform. But, it’s not just another law enforcement solution for intelligence analytics, IBM is demonstrating its profound understanding for the need for integration among and between stakeholders beyond law enforcement in its provision of a solution to do just that. In addition to integrating the informational needs of several lateral stakeholders beyond police, IBM is acknowledging the connection between economic development and a safe environment in which to live.

In the screenshot above, the blue pins represent burglaries, the red pins are fires and the green are medical emergencies.

With the acquisition of i2 Group a year or so ago, IBM has Coplink and Analyst’s Notebook. But with the latest rendition of its software they’re integrating all of that and beyond by combining Big Data with analytics.

In a white paper which addresses in part the need for public safety agencies to do more with less and to link spending to outcomes:

In many developed economies, agencies are tasked with facing these challenges with state or decline real expenditures. … While Public safety agencies in emerging markets may not be faced with resource issues, the pace of organizational change required to deal with the growth in crime means they need to find new ways of working.

Martin Nathan is IBM’s Product Manger for i2 Group’s product line. He acknowledged that a lot of good police work is about a cop’s gut instinct, and added, “police officers are really bright, but there are only so many points of information they can take in. This type of technology grows that ability exponentially.”

What might be even more compelling is the platform’s portrayal of threat to the responding officer. By combining its tactical lead systems and analytical systems into one hub, the front line officers get feedback on suspects in a visual manner that could be lifesaving.

Nathan illustrated a police officer viewing the crime data from the previous several hours that occurred before his shift. Only, it’s not limited to specific crimes, but also fire calls and medical emergencies. And beyond that s/he can gain insight into the individual suspects criminal records and information from social services. Coplink and Analyst’s Notebook capabilities are integrated in such a way to give officers a very comprehensive lay of the land. S/he can see the suspect’s associations with other individuals, and other background information so not only can officers know they have the right suspect, they know how dangerous they are before they approach.

Mark Cleverly is IBM’s Global Lead for Public Safety. He spoke about five areas of need for improvement which guide IBM’s public safety development effort:
1. Increasing access to information, not just for law enforcement but for public partners and citizens
2. Create trust by inclusion of everything that is relevant
3. Delivery of information to the right points
4. Predictive analysis – adding pro-action to response analysis
5. Providing broader situation awareness

Inclusion of social media data sets are in the works as well, future versions of the platform might include YouTube videos and 311 data. Nathan wants to proceed cautiously in order to maintain integrity. He said social media can be a dead-end or a distraction and that the question is how to get to where the real value is. “We have a very good vision of content for social media analytics that we will incorporate after thorough research and through working closely with clients.”

Cleverly added, “we want to be as open as we can be to all participants who play a role in public safety, and that includes citizens, it’s not just about police, fire and ambulance.”

Related IBM whitepapers:
The value of smarter public safety and security

Accelerating economic growth and vitality through smarter public safety management