Urban Safety

Michigan Address Vacancy Rates by Neighborhood (September 2010)

Below is a link to download my updated neighborhood vacancy map for Sept 2010.  I created this mash-up for use with Google Earth.   

This file (.kmz) opens using Google Earth which is a free download if you have not installed it.  Clicking on the tract will reveal a bar chart showing the trend data for the selected neighborhood.

Download Sep 2010 USPS Address Vacancy Rates in Michigan - 2005 to 2010

"Smash and Grab" Crackdown -- In the News

DETROIT (WXYZ) - It all started with a question: "Who robbed Scott Lewis?" And now a Channel 7 investigation is getting big results in the fight against a horrendous problem with smash and grab robberies outside a local court house.

This all came to light when Action News Investigator Scott Lewis was victimized in one of these robberies. He decided it was time to make someone in power accountable to fix a problem that had been festering far too long.

Dr. Dave Martin tracks crime statistics at Wayne State University with a software program he designed for Detroit police. Martin says they were getting 15 to 20 smash and grab reports a month before our story aired in late September.

"There's been only one theft from a vehicle in October and none so far in November."

Martin says the crimes have "virtually stopped," calling this is a perfect example of what can happen when police take a targeted approach to fighting crime.

 

Crime Up or Crime Down?: A New Crime Data Tool

The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program, which collects and publishes crime statistics, has developed an online database tool to make it easier to search for crime data going back to 1960.

The publisher of the annual Crime in the United States report today rolled out the UCR Data Tool, which lets users perform queries on custom variables like year, agency, and type of offense. Until now, making comparisons of our crime data required searching the annual reports and then manually crunching the numbers. The new tool aims to make it easier for users—including our law enforcement partners who supply the data—to make use of the raw numbers.

 

Detroit Crime Barometer: September 2010

Since 1987, the number of homicides annually in Detroit has trended downward.  For the most recent full year, 2009, the 361 homicides in the city represent an increase over the previous year (323 in 2008).  Given the population decline occurring in the city of Detroit -- from 951,270 in 2000 to an estimated 772,419 for 2010 -- this also represented an increase in the homicide rate to 46 murders per 100,000 residents.  Detroit’s homicide rate is 7 to 8 times higher than the State of Michigan and U.S. averages.

Download Detroit Crime Barometer Sept 2010

Dear 311: Lighting problem at Wayne State University

A recent survey by the University Cultural Center Association reported that nearly 50% of the streetlights are not working in the area around WSU's campus.   A copy of the report is here.  UCCA Report Feb 2010

 

This light fixture looks like it will come crashing to the ground any minute now and could hit a vehicle or pedestrian. 

 

The location is on the Lodge Service Drive just north of Warren Avenue.  Next to Manoogian Hall at WSU.

 

We'll see if the problem gets fixed. (And, more importantly if I get a tracking number this time!)

 

Update: No tracking number.  Not addressed (2/24/2010).

 

 

 

 

Detroit 311: Is it Working ?

Detroiters can report neighborhood problems to government in many ways.   911, 311, direct phone calls to city officials, including elected officials and city departments such as the police department or DPW, or even the city Ombudsperson's Office.  They can even report issues while at community meetings, where oftentimes a city official will be present.  Historically, the "squeaky wheel gets the grease" method has been the most effective, and especially if you know someone in City government.  The bureaucratic method has not worked effectively for decades. 

I reported a potentially dangerous situation to Detroit 311 yesterday.  (See photos below).  I was genuinely surprised that the problem was addressed within a few hours.  Impressed, I wanted to give the City credit for its quick response --  if indeed it was the agency who fixed the problem. 

I'm told that citizen's 311 service requests normally receive a tracking number, however, the e-mail receipt I received from my Detroit 311  request, which I made via e-mail did not have a tracking number.  The 311 operator indicated he forwarded the info the Public Lighting but did not give it a tracking number because it is more of a police/fire/theft issue.  

Someone fixed the problem, who that was we don't yet know...because  311 only tracks certain types of requests.  Other types simply get forwarded on with no tracking.  I would suggest they start tracking everything and that departments report back on the status of all service requests.  That way, stuff will have less of a chance of falling through the cracks, citizens will be able track requests, and the City will be able to effectively measure and reward high performing workers and departments. 

Before	After

CUS Urban Safety Program helps facilitate Midtown COMPSTAT

The Center for Urban Studies, together with the Wayne State University Police  
Department, and security officials from Henry Ford Health System and the Detroit Medical
Center, have developed a collaborative model of targeted policing that we believe will
produce lasting crime reductions.  Midtown COMPSTAT meetings are held twice a month at the WSU Police Department.  The meetings are designed to share information, develop crime fighting strategies, and to evaluate the impact of collaborative efforts underway in Midtown.

Our program is based on the CompStat Model (popularized by the New York City Police Department) and is driven by crime analysis, mapping, and hot spot identification using data from the Detroit Police Department’s records management system as processed and analyzed by Wayne State University’s Center for Urban Studies. 

The goal of Midtown CompStat is a permanent reduction in crime -- that also brings  improvements in perceptions of safety and overall quality of life.   Midtown CompStat is supported by a collaborative problem-solving process and real-time crime mapping and analysis system. 

The system is currently used by police and security staff of the three institutions meeting bi-weekly together to identify and target locations where significant numbers of serious crimes have occurred.
These hot spots are targets of focused patrol (and surveillance) by both police cars and foot patrols, leading to arrests, ticketing, and reductions in crime.

In the first target area, focused patrol, arrests for observed criminal activity, and traffic stops resulted in a reduction of serious crimes from 30 to only 2 after the first two weeks of targeted patrol. 

Google Earth for Scientific Applications Conference

I attended the inaugural Google Earth for Scientific applications conference held in Ann Arbor at the University of Michigan.  The conference included several workshops on KML and the capabilities of Google Earth to support academic research and visualization of data.  In the coming year, I will be using several of the tips that Google programmers suggested.  These include techniques supporting animation of areal data illustrating demographic data and approaches on more efficient network links.