BJA FY 23 The Smart Policing Initiative Grant Program, IMPD ShotSpotter

IMPD is partnering with the National Policing Institute (NPI) to implement and evaluate planned enhancements to its existing Real Time Crime Center (RTCC), focusing on supporting officers responding to death investigations and firearm-related calls for service, including homicides and aggravated assaults. These enhancements will consist of a multi-prong process including significant investment in technology procurement and optimization, targeted at increasing available data integrated into its “single pane of glass” and more effective dissemination of information that links events together, and creating checklists for analysts providing direct support to officers by type of call for service developed from standardization of workflows. NPI will act as an external research partner to conduct an implementation and impact evaluation of the RTCC improvements and their effects on firearm-related homicide and non-domestic, aggravated assaults. This will involve collecting and analyzing both qualitative and quantitative data to conduct the most rigorous evaluation possible. Broadly, this work can help demonstrate the value of integrating and making available as many relevant data sources as possible into RTCC software, improving dissemination of actionable information to responding officers, and positively impacting the outcome of firearm-related incidents through faster identification of suspects and increasing case clearance rates. Additionally, the qualitative findings from the implementation can provide critical lessons learned for other departments considering establishing or expanding RTCCs in the future.