Crimestoppers boosts information responsiveness with ArcGIS Dashboards
The charity Crimestoppers works closely with police forces and Police and Crime Commissioners across the UK to share and evaluate information about crimes reported anonymously by the public. Its National and Regional Managers now have access to a self-service portal powered by ArcGIS Dashboards, allowing them to more efficiently report on and review local crime trends, supporting their ongoing engagements with PCCs and police forces.
Users now self-serve data from one intuitive screen and produce more accurate reports, more quickly than ever before
Location-specific searches with local crime trend filters provide information needed to support hyper-local crime prevention campaigns
The new system was rapidly configured by non-GIS experts and in-use after only one training session for intended users
The Challenge
Crimestoppers provides a service for people to pass on what they know about crime whilst staying completely anonymous. Each year, over 200,000 reports are shared with local police forces, supplying crucial information that aids investigations, arrests and prosecutions.
The responsibility for reaching vital communities who may need the Crimestoppers’ service lies with the charity’s 14 National and Regional Managers, who work across the United Kingdom. They liaise with their respective Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and forces to understand strategic policing priorities and jointly develop local campaigns aimed at encouraging the public to share tip-offs anonymously.
However, the reporting mechanism used by the Managers was too time-consuming. Each report naturally includes a location element, yet the system lacked postcode or spatial data fields to provide the correct geographic visual context to a report. As a result, consolidating reports often took weeks and there became a pressing need for automated geographic filtering and enrichment to more effectively communicate local issues, trends and patterns.
“Our Regional Managers simply needed better tools to help them do their jobs,” said Crimestoppers’ Chief of Staff, Karen Ogborn. “We also sought the ability to more easily demonstrate to PCCs and forces the impact of Crimestoppers’ work on the communities they serve and to uncover previously undetectable patterns of crime.”
“Our Regional Managers can now speak about their data with a new confidence. They can get more projects off the ground, provide better support to Crimestoppers’ partners and work in the communities which need our support the most.”
Karen Ogborn, Chief of Staff, Crimestoppers
The Solution
Esri has been collaborating with Crimestoppers since 2011, with ArcGIS Online enabling call handlers to geo-locate calls from the public about criminal activity. In early 2024, Crimestoppers partnered with Kalago Digital to make updates to their ‘Self-Service’ portal, a tool being used by Crimestoppers Regional Managers to analyse and report on disseminated crime information. During the redevelopment of the portal, Kalago recognised, in conjunction with Esri, that ArcGIS Dashboards could play a crucial role in sharing spatial information.
Despite having no prior GIS experience, the Kalago team quickly and easily configured ArcGIS Dashboards, tailoring the information to meet the specific requirements of the National and Regional Managers, with only light-touch contact from Esri UK. Incoming reports are now automatically updated and integrated into the system, giving Managers access to virtually real-time data. Having this information at their fingertips makes them more responsive, giving them time to analyse the data and identify trends, rather than merely respond to queries and generate data-heavy reports.
The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. One Regional Manager shared, “I’ve already made use of it today! I had to send some information on the number of hate crime reports to a local council, and it’s already done. It’s so easy to use and I feel really confident that the data it provides is accurate.”
“We are significantly expanding the number of reports we share with the police and, by using dashboard reporting, we can deliver accurate, essential data that will inform and shape more effective crime prevention strategies.”
Mick Duthie, Director of Operations, Crimestoppers
Benefits
Accelerated responsiveness
Only one internal training session was needed to get the National and Regional Managers up-to-speed on how to use this intuitive, self-service reporting portal. Managers can now self-serve and view data through intuitive maps, bar-charts and different filters giving them the means to produce reports and insight more quickly than ever as well as respond to incoming enquiries.
Improved resource management
As Managers become more efficient with self-serve ArcGIS Dashboards, they can dedicate more time to developing hyper-local campaigns tailored to specific PCC requests. Additionally, Crimestoppers’ former gatekeeper for data requests can now use their time far more productively and do more with their role, such as contributing to the executive management team by providing new insights that drive strategic and operational decision-making.
Rapid configuration
The Kalago team was able to set up the new ArcGIS Dashboards within a matter of days despite having no GIS experience. The interface was simple to edit so the Regional Managers have all the information they need, at a glance, on a single screen. Data is automatically updated daily, providing users with near real-time information thereby optimising the accuracy of data and reporting.
Supporting better crime prevention
With the new geographically based dashboards, Regional Managers can instantly run specific location searches and filter results based on reported crimes, ranging from incidents like romance fraud to shoplifting. PCCs now have faster access to these insightful reports and can collaborate promptly with their Crimestoppers’ Regional Manager to develop and implement hyper-local crime prevention strategies and campaigns.
