[00:00:00] Speaker A: The Journey Hometown Journal.
[00:00:02] Speaker B: So we look forward to seeing what the data is going to show us in the next two to three months as far as crime reduction. So hopefully we'll have some numbers by that point to kind of see where we're at.
[00:00:12] Speaker C: Welcome to the Hometown Journal. I'm Mark Edwards. The Rocky Mountain, North Carolina Police Department has deployed a new software program to help them better determine possible areas of crime and manage patrols. Sergeant Jonathan Donnauter works in information technology for the department.
He joins us now to tell us about the program Resource Router and how it can help reduce and prevent crime. Well, Sergeant, thank you so much for being with us today on the Hometown Journal. As we talk about the new technology advancements in the police department in Rocky Mount. It's called Resource Router. Tell us a little bit about what that software program is and how it enhances what the police department is doing.
[00:00:56] Speaker B: Sure. Resource Router is basically a software that is used for patrol management to help us with directed patrols. It's a data driven software using historical data. They give our officers an idea where crime will be forecasted to occur, not saying it will occur there, but forecasted it may occur. And so it gives our patrol level supervision as well as our command staff an idea where these patrol officers are going and how much time they're spending in each area.
[00:01:26] Speaker C: How does it work as far as forecasting? Like how far out can it forecast that, hey, this may be a potential area where a certain type of crime would be committed?
[00:01:37] Speaker B: Yeah. So our forecasts are in 12 hour increments. So say our day shift comes in at 7, it gives a forecast for the next 12 hours. And then when our night shift comes in again at 7pm when they start, a new forecast will be projected and they'll get another set of extra watches or hotspots, so to say, for the resource router.
[00:01:56] Speaker C: All right, so pretty quickly then you can make changes as you need to regarding the patrol routes or personnel that might be needed.
[00:02:05] Speaker B: The software is automated generated. So we cannot change the actual outcome of what the forecast may be, but we can add too. So if we do set a train on our side or cram analyst are looking at the numbers for the week and say, hey, there's a trend that's going on, say for a large for motor vehicles, we can add that to the system as well to add our own hotspots. But the actual ones that are generated by the software cannot be changed. They're basing all that information off historical data.
[00:02:36] Speaker C: How long has the department had the software and how long has it been operating?
[00:02:41] Speaker B: We purchased the software probably a little over a year ago, but we finally got it implemented due to training and getting things behind the scenes calibrated. But we finally got this started in December and we're looking forward to moving on from there to enhance this project even further.
[00:02:58] Speaker C: Okay, with what you've been able to do since December, can you already tell a difference or has it helped already in patrol routes and what is needed and identifying potential areas?
[00:03:11] Speaker B: So I can't really say how much reduction we've seen so far just based off the little time we've had it going. However, we have seen that demand power from our camp crime analysts and our has reduced a lot their time to come up with these areas of opportunities for these officers to do direct patrols in. And also it's made our supervisor's job a lot easier to kind of look at, see where they're doing the patrols and maintain that supervision that side of things. So yes, it's already enhancing the way we're doing things. We've seen quite a bit of positive feedback from officers and supervisors on this technology.
So we look forward to seeing what the data is going to show us in the next two to three months as far as crime reduction. So hopefully we'll have some numbers by that point to kind of see where we're at. We're very hopeful. We've done some research on our ends with other agencies that are currently doing Resource Rider and they're seeing some somewhere around 15, 20% reduction rate.
So we're optimistic that this, that we'll see the same thing. You know, our officers are always hard working at this, so they're putting every effort to making this accessible.
[00:04:23] Speaker C: Tell me a little bit about the company that produces Resource Router.
[00:04:29] Speaker B: Sure. So Resource Router is a software based off soundthinking. Sound Thinking was also was known as ShotSpotter. It originally produced ShotSpotter, which is a gunshot detection software and hardware that was placed in our city amongst other cities several years ago.
So that company decided to kind of dab into other aspects of technology.
And so one of these technologies happened to be Resource Writer and so they changed the name to soundthinking. So they have multiple different platforms. They offer law enforcement agencies from Resource Writer to Case Builder to Crime tracker, all sorts of tools that they can give to law enforcement to kind of help their job out.
[00:05:11] Speaker C: How long have you been with the department?
[00:05:13] Speaker B: So I've been with the department 18 years.
[00:05:15] Speaker C: In that 18 years, how have you seen technology change and benefit Police work.
[00:05:24] Speaker B: Yeah. So in my 18 years we went from handwriting reports to mobile field reporting, which has allowed us to write reports in our cars and send it over via a data connection, secure data connection to our supervisors to review. So, you know, I've seen a lot of changes in technology. So not only has it made our workflow and manpower reduce dramatically, it also help gives us a one up on criminal activity. We've done, you know, several different technologies here. Arguing about PD, including drones and as far as LPRs and things of that nature does definitely helped us kind of get a little edge on the crime.
[00:06:03] Speaker C: And wrong came out from what you've seen, maybe other departments using or software that's being developed because technology is changing all the time. Are you excited about what's on the horizon to aid police officers?
[00:06:17] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm excited about the technology that we're implementing and hopefully the implement in the future as being the information technology person for the agency. It's exciting to explore new technology, look at new things that can give these officers a make their life easier and as well as keep them safer. I think that's the main goal, to keep our community safe, keep our officers safe, make sure they go home at night to their families. So if we can introduce any type of technology that can do both help the officer and the community, I think it's a win win for everybody.
[00:06:50] Speaker C: That is Rocky Mountain, North Carolina Police Sergeant Jonathan Donauter discussing the department's latest technology in their efforts to reduce and prevent crime.
Thank you for joining us for the Hometown Journal.
[00:07:02] Speaker A: You've been listening to the Journey Hometown Journal. If you're a part of an organization or know of one in the communities we serve and would like to be considered as a guest, please make your
[email protected] email officeyjourneyfm.com or call 800-424-9594. The Hometown Journal is a presentation of the Journey.
