Days of simply patrolling for crime are coming to an end with the implementation of new studies and a by-the-numbers approach in crime prevention.
The tactic of utilizing data and analytics has been in place since 2014, when Oxford police released a new strategy under the leadership of police chief Joey East, who was new to the job at the time and wanted to get a plan in place.
“We look at the calls we’re getting for service, we look at the patterns of activity we’re getting in those areas, and the services that are offered in those areas, as well as the concentration of people in those areas,” Sheridan Maiden, major of administrative services, said. “That helps us decide on the deployment of personnel and what type of personnel we need to have in those areas, as well as the number.”
Major of operations Jeff McCutchen has been with OPD since 2005 and has witnessed the benefits of transitioning to a data-driven policing approach firsthand. Since the introduction of the new plan in 2014, the crime solvability rate for OPD has been around 60 percent, according to McCutchen.
“I think we’re more informed now,” McCutchen said. “We understand more, (our lieutenant) can immediately go in right now and start pulling data just to give patrol a heads up on what our crime trends are. For me, I think it gives us a better ability to predict how to police. We can focus our attention more on certain areas and certain crimes, and being where we need to be at certain times of the night.”
The data-driven approach has led OPD to identify what they call problem areas in Oxford. According to both McCutchen and Maiden, problem areas are less like permanent designations of bad neighborhoods and more like a status given to an area during a particular time of day, or when large groups of people are coming and going.
For example, Maiden said the Square is not considered a problem area at most times of the day. However, from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. on most weekend nights, the Square becomes a concern for OPD.
Residential areas can also create issues because of very small numbers of people present. Maiden said that apartment complexes and houses occupied by students become problem areas over holidays because of the exodus of students who leave their valuables in unattended homes.
“When we talk about ‘problem areas,’ it’s really about looking at Oxford in phases,” McCutchen said. “Football season has a phase and there’s certain objectives that we have to look at. Then when football season is over it kind of changes again. It’s constantly an evolution. As the semester changes, you have to change with it.”
Catherine Carter, the leasing and marketing manager for The Hub at Oxford, said OPD does a good job of patrolling their complex during times when most students have left.
“(OPD) stops by pretty frequently to check things out. Once in a blue moon we will have a car break-in,” Carter said. “But that’s people that leave their doors unlocked, it’s not anything crazy. Oxford Police checks in with us often.”
Maiden said circumstances that contribute to these designations can also include things like excessive parking and excessive traffic.
Maiden said, while Jackson Avenue isn’t usually a problem area, it becomes one around 5 p.m. on weekdays because of the large amounts of traffic from people going home from work.
Another notable problem area is the Grove on Ole Miss football game days. The large influx of people to the Grove drives OPD to deploy almost all of their officers, including multiple undercover officers wearing plain clothes, according to Maiden.
Undercover officers are utilized because they can see a lot more than uniformed personnel and provide intel to help maintain a secure environment.
McCutchen said the data-driven approach and designation of problem areas has brought many benefits to both OPD and the community.
“It gives us a better dialogue with the community,” McCutchen said. “It gives us a better opportunity to give the residents peace of mind. When you call we can talk to you in fact and not theory, and tell you specific plans that we have to assist your neighborhood better.”
