Innovative Data-based Crime Fighting
Edmonton’s Analytics Centre of Excellence (ACE) is a part of the Open City Initiative whose mission is to assist the City in using analytics to improve outcomes and decision making for City staff.
The ACE team recently conducted a pilot ‘contextual analysis of crime’ project involving advanced algorithmic analysis of 233 kinds of data including:
Negative data sets like:
- litter,
- abandoned stolen autos,
- liquor stores,
- graffiti,
- public drinking,
- bylaw infractions
- pothole reports
- Front Yards in Bloom,
- libraries,
- street lighting intensity,
- green spaces and playgrounds.
They divided Edmonton into more than 11,000 grid squares, then ran open data sets and police crime stats through a computer algorithm that looked for patterns. The computer produced 92 ‘significant rules’ affecting crime either positively or negatively. The team can now choose a specific geographic area and generate a list of the factors tending to increase or decrease crime within that area.
The crime project is the first of many ways that advanced data analytics will help City employees do their work.
Read more about the ACE team’s analytics expertise.
For More Information
Wendy Gnenz
City of Edmonton
| Title | Director, Corporate and Departmental Initiatives |
|---|---|
| Telephone | 780-944-0429 |
| wendy.gnenz@edmonton.ca |
For More Information
Kent McMullin
Economic and Environmental Sustainability
Sustainable Development
12th Floor, HSBC Bank Place
10250-101 Street NW
Edmonton, AB T5J 3P4
| Title | Senior Business Strategist |
|---|---|
| Telephone | 780-442-7150 Toll-free in North America: |
| kent.mcmullin@edmonton.ca |
