Use Crime Problem Management—ArcGIS Solutions

The Crime Problem Management solution delivers a set of capabilities that help you manage incident data, identify crime problems, manage evidence-based responses, evaluate response effectiveness, and share results with internal and external stakeholders.

In this topic, you’ll learn how to use the solution by assuming the role of a user and performing the workflows below.

Note:

Use your organization's data or configured apps to follow these workflows.

Document problems

To reduce crime effectively, law enforcement agencies identify discrete geographically-bounded problems with unique victim, offender, and time characteristics that can be addressed with proven response strategies. Once problems are identified by crime analysts through routine tactical and strategic analysis, they must document and share their analytical findings with response staff to begin the crime problem management process.

Note:

The Crime Problem Management solution is intended to help law enforcement agencies manage the response to crime problems. Crime analysts are expected to conduct their own problem analysis using capabilities in ArcGIS Pro and the Crime Analysis solution.

In some cases, problems are identified through means other than crime analysis. Police leadership may receive notification about a problem they feel obligated to respond to from community members, elected officials, or other stakeholders. In these situations, a district captain can initiate a new crime problem, complete basic details, and refer the problem to a crime analyst for additional analytical work. You'll learn about each crime problem documentation process in the following sections.

Document problems with ArcGIS Pro

In this workflow, you will assume the role of a crime analyst who will use the Problem Identification ArcGIS Pro project to document a crime problems and associated incidents, identified by analysis so the district captain can be aware of problems within their command area and begin to plan a response.

Browse to and open the Problem Identification ArcGIS Pro project.
Ensure you have completed the Configure Problem Identification project workflow..
If you do not see the Catalog pane, from the View tab, in the Windows group, click Catalog Pane.
Expand the Tasks folder and then double-click the Problem Identification task group.
In the Tasks pane, expand the Document problems task group to see the collection of tasks.
To create a new crime problem, double-click the Create new problem and follow the instructions in the task steps.
To update an existing crime problem, double-click the Update problem and follow the instructions in the task steps.
To print a hard-copy report of a documented crime or calls for service problem, expand the Create crime problem reports task group, double-click the corresponding task, and follow the instructions in the task steps.

Each task group includes a set of steps for using the solution.

Document problems with the Problem Response Planner

In this workflow, you will assume the role of a district captain who will use the Problem Response Planner to document basic elements of a crime problem and associated incidents to begin the crime problem management process.

Verify you are signed in to your ArcGIS organization and browse to the Problem Response Planner dashboard.
At the bottom of the dashboard, click the Add new crime problem button.
The Add new crime problem app will appear in a new browser tab.
Review the help instructions in the Using this app window, then click Okay.
Use the scroll wheel on your mouse or the map zoom buttons to zoom to the map extent of the crime problem you want to create. As you zoom in, the Crimes and CallsForService layers will appear. To hide these layers, go to the sidebar, click Layers, and click each layer to hide it on the map. Click Layers again to hide the panel.
On the sidebar, click Edit to open the editing pane.
Under Create features, click CrimeProblems.
Click a point on the map to position the first corner of your crime problem area. Click on map to place additional corners. When you have finished creating a polygons, Double-click to finish problem area.
In edit pane, attribute fields for the new crime problem will appear
Fill out the New Crime Problem section with the information you have.
The following fields are required:
- Problem Name
- Problem Status
- Date Problem Identified
- District Responsible
Optionally, add any attachments that are relevant to the problem.
To associate crimes or calls for service incidents to this crime problem, you will first filter for the incidents you want to associate. On the sidebar, click As you zoom in, the Crimes and CallsForService layers will appear. To hide these layers, go to the sidebar, click Filter.
Use the filters to select the specific incidents you want to associate to the crime problem. To reset filters to their original state, click Reset Filter..
On the sidebar, click Edit.
On the Editor pane, click Select.
On the map, Click to select an incident you want to associate to the crime problem. In the Problem Name field, enter in the name of the crime problem exactly as it is displayed on the label of the problem area on the map.
Click Update.
Repeat steps 11-14 to associate the remainder of incidents to the crime problem.
When complete, close the browser window.

Note:

If you make a mistake during the editing process, you can cancel your edit any time by clicking the Back Arrow in the upper left corner of the edit pane, then clicking Discard edits.

Plan problem response

Once a crime problem has been identified, district captains need to plan a response that will reduce the problem effectively. To work efficiently, they need to research and apply strategies proven by empirical evidence to effectively reduce the type of problem they face.

In this workflow, you will assume the role of district captain who wants to use the Problem Response Planner to plan a response to a crime problem and assign to a lieutenant for coordinating implementation of the response.

In a browser, browse to the Problem Response Planner dashboard. The dashboard displays open problems. Open problems can be new problems in need of a response plan, problems that are actively being responded to, or problems where the response has ended and is in need of an evaluation. Evaluated problems are not displayed. This status is controlled by the Problem Status field in the Crime Problems layer.
On the left, click the arrow to open the Help Sidebar for this app. When complete, click to close.
On the Stats tab, review a list of open problems and their high-level metrics.
On the top, in the header, adjust the District selector to filter open problem.
Use the graphs for additional filtering of the open problems list.
Note:
Dashboard charts are linked. If you click a column on the Problems by status, Problems by type, or Problems by priority chart, related details are filtered and updated in other elements in the dashboard. To reset all filter made on a dashboard, go to the bottom-right corner of the dashboard and click the Reset button.
In the Open problems list, click a problem.
At the bottom of the dashboard, click the Details tab to learn more about the problem.
At the bottom of the dashboard, click Map tab to see the problem location and view related crimes, calls for service, and attachments.
In the Related crimes list, click a crime incident to learn more about it and to see the its location.
In the Related calls list, click a calls for service incident to learn more about it and to see the its location.
In the Attachments list, click an attachment to view it in a new browser window.
At the bottom of the dashboard, click the Response plan tab to document a response plan for the problem.
In the Plan response form, complete the fields displayed according to the instructions on the form. Required fields include:
Questions with a red asterisk must be completed before the form can be submitted.
- Priority
- Response Goals
- Response Strategies
- Response Resources Required
- Response Coordinator
- Response Start Date
- Response End Date
- Problem Status

Set the value in this field to the appropriate status.

In the form, the Problem Status field controls visibility of the problem response for users in other solution apps.

Analysis and Planning	Planning a response, plan is not complete.
Active Response	Plan is complete, response is ready to begin or active
Response Ended	Response is complete, evaluation is ready to begin or active

In order to save changes made to the Plan response form, scroll to the bottom of the form and click Submit. You must do this any time you edit a field in the form.
Once a response plan has been completed, you can create an email to send to your assigned response coordinator notifying them about their response coordination assignment. To create a notification email, go to the bottom of the Plan response form and click Email coordinator.
In your default email client, a new email will appear containing the details about the problem and the response plan.
In the email modify the email text as required, enter the email address of the coordinator, and send the email.
The Plan response form also includes links to resources to help users discover research about responses evaluated to be successful for addressing various types of crime problems. Clicking any of the links opens the website in a new browser tab.
In addition to the links in the form, users can also research which strategies have previously been implemented and evaluated at their agency by using the Evaluated problem responses app. To view the app, go to the bottom of the Plan response form and click Evaluated problem responses.
In a new browser tab, the Evaluated problem responses app opens. On the left, click an evaluated problem response to view its location, evaluation results, and response details.
To filter evaluated problem responses, use the header selectors or type a full or partial word into the search bar above the list.
On the left, click the arrow to open the Help Sidebar for this app. When complete, click to close.
When you have finished using the Evaluated problem responses app, click on the browser tab to close the app, and return to the browser tab containing the Problem Response Planner app.

Coordinate response activities

After a district captain has formulated a problem response plan, a lieutenant assigned to coordinate the response must work to implement the various strategies using the personnel resources designated in the response plan. To perform this role in such a way that the response can be evaluated, the lieutenant must document the activities assigned to various operational resources, and the results of those activities. For example, if focused patrols are part of the response plan, the coordinator must document what days and times they occurred, which officers performed them, and what, if any outputs were generated like arrests, illegal guns, drug recoveries, or other outputs. These response activities can be documented by shift, day, or as needed, but are critical to ensuring that the organization is able to understand what was done and it was consistent with the planned response.

In this workflow, you will assume the role of a lieutenant who wants to use the Problem Response Coordinator to document response activities for a crime problem response plan they have been assigned to coordinate.

Verify you are signed in to your ArcGIS organization and browse to the Problem Response Coordinator dashboard.
The dashboard displays active problem responses by priority and the associated response activity reports that have been completed in furtherance of each response. Responses shown in the dashboard have a status of Active Response in the Problem Status field of the Crime Problems layer.
On the left, click the arrow to open the Help Sidebar for this app. When complete, click to close.
In the Active problem responses list, click a problem to view its analytical details and response plan.
On the top, in the header, adjust the selectors to filter the Active problem responses by district or coordinator name .
At the bottom of the dashboard, click the Map tab to see the problem location and view related crimes, calls for service, and attachments.
In the Related crimes list, click a crime incident to learn more about it and to see the its location.
In the Related calls list, click a calls for service incident to learn more about it and to see the its location.
In the Attachments list, click an attachment to view it in a new browser window.
To complete a new response activity report for the selected record in the Active problem responses list, go to the bottom of the dashboard, and click the New report tab. On the New response activity form, complete the fields displayed according to the instructions on the form.
In order to save changes made to the New response activity form, scroll to the bottom of the form and click Submit.
In some cases, a lieutenant will want to start a response activity report and finish reporting activity results at a later time. To update existing response activity reports for the selected record in the Active problem responses list, go to the bottom of the dashboard, and click the Update report tab.
The Update report tab displays, for the selected problem response, a count of activity reports and what percent have been completed (meaning results have been reported), as well as a chart displaying reports by day, and a list of the activity reports.
In the Response activity reports list, click a report to update. In the Update response activity form, update fields as necessary.
In order to save changes made to the Update response activity form, scroll to the bottom of the form and click Submit.

Monitor problem response

To ensure that their organization is effectively reducing crime, command staff, must monitor the crime problem management process to enforce accountability and ensure that responses appropriate to the problem and are being implemented as intended.

In this workflow, you will assume the role of a member of the command staff who wants to use the Problem Response Monitor to monitor the status of current agency-wide problems and responses.

Verify you are signed in to your ArcGIS organization and browse to the Problem Response Monitor dashboard.
The dashboard displays all open problems as well as responses evaluated within the last 28 days. With this information, you can have a complete picture of the current problem environment, monitor active responses, and discuss the results of responses that have recently been evaluated.
On the left, click the arrow to open the Help Sidebar for this app. When complete, click to close.
On the left, review a list of Open problems and recent evaluations and On the Stats tab, view charts displaying high-level metrics.
On the top, in the header, adjust the District selector to filter records in the Open problems and recent evaluations.
Use the charts for additional filtering of the Open problems and recent evaluations list.
Note:
Dashboard charts are linked. If you click a column on the Problems by status, or Problems by district, chart related details are filtered and updated in other elements in the dashboard. To reset all filter made on a dashboard, go to the bottom-right corner of the dashboard and click the Reset button.
In the Open problems and recent evaluations list, click a problem.
At the bottom of the dashboard, click the Details tab to view analysis details, and if applicable, a response plan and evaluation summary.
At the bottom of the dashboard, click the Response Reports tab to view response activities associated with the selected problem.
The Response Reports tab displays, for the selected problem response, a count of activity reports and what percent have been completed (meaning results have been reported), as well as a chart displaying reports by day, and a list of the activity reports.
At the bottom of the dashboard, click the Map tab to see the problem location and view related crimes, calls for service, and attachments.
In the Related crimes list, click a crime incident to learn more about it and to see the its location.
In the Related calls for service list, click a calls for service incident to learn more about it and to see the its location.
In the Attachments list, click an attachment to view it in a new browser window.

Evaluate problem responses

In order to be a modern, evidence-based organization, police agencies must evaluate their operational responses to crime problems. Evaluations serve two critical purposes- first, to determine whether responses are effectively reducing crime, and second, when their responses do not reduce crime, understanding why, so that the organization can learn and grow to improve future response efforts. To answer these questions, evaluations must assess outcomes (reductions in crime or disorder incidents) as well as process (was the response implemented as intended) to gain a full picture of its success.

Perform statistical evaluation

High-quality statistical evaluations of operational responses can be a significant challenge for law enforcement agencies. Most organizations lack in-house researchers capable of designing randomized control trials, the benchmark of evaluation methods, much less dealing with the political and operational challenges of assigning treatment and control areas. Law enforcement agencies need quasi-experimental designs that practitioners like crime analysts can easily perform on their own, enabling evaluation to be incorporated into standard operational practice. Andrew Wheeler, Ph.D. and Jerry Ratcliffe, Ph.D., devised a statistical method, Weighted Displacement Difference, to help law enforcement agencies evaluating the effectiveness of a response in a crime problem area. The statistical test compares the response area to a control area, comparing the period of response treatment to the immediate pre-treatment period. As a common criticism of police operational responses is that they simply move crime rather than prevent it, the statistical test also accounts for a buffer around each area to test for displacement. The output of the test provides, in plain language, an understanding of whether, accounting for displacement, crime in the response area was reduced relative to the control area, and if that reduction is statistically significant. In this way, the test provide simplicity and flexibility, enabling law enforcement organizations to incorporate evaluation into their regular operational practice.

To facilitate the use of this statistical test, the Crime Problem Management solution includes a custom geoprocessing tool, Weighted Displacement Difference, in the Problem Identification project.

In this workflow, you will assume the role of crime analyst who wants to use the Weighted Displacement Difference in the Problem Identification ArcGIS Pro project to evaluate a crime problem.

Browse to and open the Problem Identification ArcGIS Pro project.
Ensure you have completed the Configure Problem Identification project workflow..
If you do not see the Catalog pane, from the View tab, in the Windows group, click Catalog Pane.
Expand the Tasks folder and then double-click the Problem Identification task group.
In the Tasks pane, expand the Evaluate problems task group to see the collection of tasks.
To evaluate a crime problem response, double-click the Evaluate problem response and follow the instructions in the task steps.
To print a hard-copy report of a response evaluation, expand the Create crime problem reports task group, double-click the corresponding task, and follow the instructions in the task steps.

Perform implementation evaluation

While crime analysts are responsible for performing a statistical evaluation of a response's outcomes, the district captain who created the response plan is also responsible for evaluating the process of implementing the response and documenting lessons learned about what worked and what did not.

In this workflow, you will assume the role of district captain who wants to use the Problem Response Planner to document their assessment of the implementation process of the crime problem response.

In a browser, verify that you are signed in to your ArcGIS organization and browse to the Problem Response Planner dashboard.
In the Open problems list, click a problem with a status of Response Ended.
At the bottom of the dashboard, click the Response plan tab to document your implementation evaluation of the crime problem selected in the previous step.
In the Plan response form, complete the following fields: Were Response Goals Achieved?, and Implementation Evaluation.
If the answer to the Were Response Goals Achieved? question is set to Yes, additionally complete the Public Problem Summary, Public Response Plan, and Public Evaluation Summary fields.
Note:
Public summary fields only display in the Plan response form when the answer to the Were Response Goals Achieved? question is set to Yes. These fields are used in the Problem Response Successes app, which displays only successful problem responses, to share summarized versions of the problem, response, and evaluation that exclude sensitive information and are suitable for sharing with the public.
Review the following fields: Strength of Statistical Evidence, Statistical Evaluation, Evaluation Analyst, and Evaluation Date. These fields are to be completed by the crime analyst evaluating the response. If all four have been completed by the crime analyst, change the value in the Response Status field to Response Evaluated. If one of these fields are incomplete, ensure value remains Response Ended.
At the bottom of the Plan response form, click Submit.

Share successes with the public

When problems have been successfully addressed, it's important for law enforcement agencies to share results with the public to demonstrate accountability and promote their good work. After problem responses are evaluated, the Crime Problem Management solution can be used by community members to view a summarized version of successful problem responses.

You will assume the role of a member of the public who wants to use the Problem Response Successes app to learn more about successful responses to crime in their community.

In a browser, browse to the Problem Response Successes dashboard.
On the left, click the arrow to open the Help Sidebar for this app. When complete, click to close.
In the Successful problem responses list, click a problem to learn more about it and to see its location.
On the top, in the header, adjust the Evaluation Date selector to filter the Successful problem responses list by the date an evaluation occurred.
Click the graph to filter Successful problem responses list by problem type.

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