Tampa Police launches new crime-tracking software for officers
TAMPA — The bashed A/C window unit was the first sign that something was amiss in the locked, empty office on Kennedy Boulevard. • Property manager Gerard Scalzo walked inside to discover a ransacked room. Some cash, a set of keys and audio-visual equipment were gone. • Scalzo called police. They arrived and began investigating. • That afternoon, officers nabbed the suspect.
“I didn’t think it would happen that fast,” Scalzo said.
Tampa police attributed the speedy arrest to SAFECOP, a new software system that allows them to track crime patterns and communicate faster while on the road.
“There frankly will be no place where any criminal will be able to hide from law enforcement,” said Chief Jane Castor during a news conference Friday morning.
SAFECOP lets officers view city maps with color-coded dots that show reported property crimes and the locations where they were committed.
Before the program was installed, officers relied on an analyst to compile the information every week.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/article1250251.ece