Crime fighting in the city of Tampa (Fla.) has been aided recently with the implementation of SAFE COP, a program developed by Assistant Chief John Bennett using technology from a company called NC4. Chief Jane Castor has been an innovative and proactive leader open to new opportunities in crime fighting strategies and leveraging technology to assist in the efforts. The SAFE COP - which stands for Situational Awareness for Enforcer's Common Operating Picture - initiative is part of the Focus on Four Plan, which has the following components:1. Redistribution of Tactical Resources: Officers and managers are responsible for tracking crime in their areas and devising plans on a daily basis to solve crimes and future offenses. The city was divided into three smaller geographic districts to more effectively manage this goal of attacking emerging trends and crime patterns.2. Intelligence-led Policing: A critical element of this endeavor involves tracking offenses as they occur. The speed of this information provided to officers has been significantly increased with implementation of new technology (SAFE COP).3. Proactive and Preventative Policing Initiatives: Crime reduction goals for the Tampa Police Department were distributed department-wide. Each officer was expected to show initiative along with a vested interest in reaching them. A series of proactive initiatives were launched to focus on the Big Four and the result is a reduction in violent crime.4. Partnering with the Community: Already established and recognized police work was combined into a new and more comprehensive approach to enhance proactive communication with community leaders and in community partnerships that already were part of the philosophy of community-oriented policing. Full Story
