Geolitica’s Next-Generation Custom Boxes

Almost 10 years ago, we founded our company based on the idea that we could use large datasets and artificial intelligence to identify crime hotspot locations more precisely. Officers and deputies would patrol these locations proactively to reduce crime and victimization in those locations.

That original idea has not changed, even as we’ve added other valuable tools over the years, such as officer management tools and enhanced analytics.

Earlier this year, we added a new feature called custom boxes. These allow departments to add their own patrol areas to their patrol maps. In some cases, our customers are now setting all their own patrol areas using custom boxes and our other tools to monitor and manage officer performance throughout their shifts.

We’ve had a lot of good feedback on these new tools, and are now excited to bring “Custom Boxes 2.0” to our customers. Here are some of our new capabilities:

1. Set your own patrol goals: You can set the targeted number of visits or minutes spent in each box down to the box level. For example, some areas may require just a single visit per shift, while others may require a minimum of 4 visits and 20 total minutes spent per shift. We use AVL/GPS to measure and report on performance against targets in real time, so officers and command staff can check their progress during their shifts.

2. Assign boxes to groups for reporting purposes: You can now group boxes together that have common purposes and report on them separately. For example, you might set up a Vehicle Crimes focused on shopping centers and apartment parking lots, with specific guidance as to what to do in those locations. Or you might want to have a Community Policing group and measure the time spent and number of visits in those boxes. You can then aggregate and report on the time spent in any of those box groups.

3. Schedule boxes in advance: This allows you to set up patrol areas for events known in advance. You might want to have boxes for home college football games, or parades or concerts. You can schedule those well in advance and set targets for each. This gives you the comfort that you have done your operational planning for major events well ahead of time.

4. Ad hoc boxes for real-time events: In public safety, probably more than any other profession, you must be able to quickly act on crises as they unfold. Any unplanned incident that requires officer deployment can be supported by custom boxes. Whether you’re dealing with major traffic collisions, significant crime scenes, weather events, demonstrations, or other high-profile incidents, you need to be able to send officers to specified locations and provide tactical guidance. Our custom boxes feature lets you do that in real time, communicate it to your officers in the field, and then see that they’re getting to their locations. You’ll also be able to see gaps in coverage and resolve them as you identify them.