Maryland Crime Research and Innovation Center

A University of Maryland (UMD) research team co-led by Kiminori Nakamura and Shuvra Bhattacharyya and affiliated with the Maryland Crime Research and Innovation Center (MCRIC) was awarded an Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (BJAG) for an ongoing partnership initiative between the city of Salisbury and UMD to advance a predictive analytics project.

The main objective of the project is to increase the availability of data-driven predictive analytics that offer the local police department an additional set of tools that can supplement and enhance existing proactive strategies while improving the sense of public safety and fairness in the community. In order to achieve this objective, this project will develop and test predictive models and a prototype software program and incorporate stakeholder feedback to refine models and programs and prepare for implementation and deployment.

Building on the progress of the first phase of the project, which was funded by the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention, Youth, and Victim Services (GOCPYVS), the team will engage in data collection and curation, research and analysis, presentation, reports and policy briefs, and the development of a prototype software package.

The project will further incorporate various data sources for geographic and place-based features, including Census-based neighborhood characteristics, such as concentrated disadvantage and residential instability, and criminogenic facilities, land use, and business types. The team will also explore population mobility and travel data from GPS-enabled mobile devices.

In order to examine potential equity and fairness issues, the team will also collaborate with a senior scholar to address racial disparity and promoting equity in criminal justice and policing. The tasks of model testing, prototype development, and pursuit of fairness will be integrated in an evaluative framework, through which the team will monitor the implementation of a prototype and assess its impact with the ultimate goal of reducing crime and improving public safety while enhancing fairness and strengthening the community trust in the police.