Crime mapping analysis is another major area of focus in the daily operations of the Division of Public Safety. DPS remains at the forefront of technological crime prevention applications, having continually upgraded our crime mapping capabilities over the past three years.

Mapping has become essential to the analysis and visual presentation of crime, as it provides a spatial depiction of incidents of crime and accompanying law enforcement data, such as the residential address of the perpetrator in relation to the incident in which he/she is involved. Hot spot analysis, or the depiction of high-density crime areas, is another particularly useful mapping feature for Public Safety, in identifying consistently problematic locations, and target-hardening those areas with additional human and technological resources. For the Division of Public Safety and the University, crime mapping analysis has become a valuable problem-solving tool for Penn Police in the development of evidence-based deployment responses and patrols.

The UPPD in conjunction with the management staff in PennComm on a monthly basis, holds a “PennStat” meeting for all Police supervisors and commanders, modeled on the “COMPSTAT” (abbreviated for computer statistics) national crime reduction strategy, first implemented by the New York City Police Department in 1994. Like CompStat, PennStat is a multifaceted system for managing police operations, and developing sound policy decisions regarding patrol deployment strategies.

The underlying goal of PennStat is to develop and disseminate information on issues of crime in the Penn patrol zone, using crime mapping technology. Crime statistics and maps are projected onto overhead screens, and UPPD commanders are asked to respond to queries about the most strategically-based ways in which they can respond to crime and quality-of-life issues. Crime reports include daily (broken down into the three shifts of the 24-hour cycle), weekly, monthly and yearly compilations about patterns, reoccurrences and geographic clusters of various criminal activities.

PennStat not only provides a strategic opportunity to exercise crime control through evidence-based procedures, but also promotes accountability within the Penn Police Department, increases police supervisors’ control over field operations and strengthens overall policing skills.