The New York City Police Department (NYPD) is the largest police department in the United States, with a uniformed force of 36,000 officers. The NYPD protects a city of 8.5 million residents, 56 million annual tourists, and many iconic sites, such as Times Square, from terrorism and crime. The Domain Awareness System (DAS) allows the NYPD to use its data to inform officer decision making with analytics and operations research. This project was a finalist in the 2016 Franz Edelman Award competition.
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The DAS is a network of sensors, databases, devices, software, and infrastructure that delivers tailored information and analytics to mobile devices and precinct desktops. Originally designed for counterterrorism purposes, the DAS has been modified for general policing and is now deployed across every police precinct in the City and on the smartphone of every officer. No other police department in the world shares information and delivers analysis to its officers as effectively.
The DAS informs a variety of tactical and strategic decisions that officers make every day. The analytics and operations research methods built into DAS enable better situational awareness by monitoring and issuing alerts on sensor feeds, such as license plate readers and radiation sensors. When an officer responds to a 911 call, the DAS allows that officer to read records that indicate a propensity for violence at that address. Commanding officers use the predictive analytics built into DAS to help make decisions about where to place their patrols. NYPD executives use the data visualization in DAS to inform structured conversations about crime trends and patterns.
The DAS has had a variety of benefits for the NYPD, including saving at least $50 million per year through more efficient use of staff. The DAS software has also been purchased by several other law enforcement agencies around the world and used to secure high profile events like the World Cup and Summer Olympics; these purchases have delivered additional funds to NYC via a first-of-its-kind revenue sharing agreement with NYPD’s software developer.
Most importantly, Police Commissioner William J. Bratton says that “the DAS is essential in keeping New York City safe from crime and terrorism.” The NYPD uses DAS every day to save lives, arrest criminals, and better serve the public.