OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — When Oak Ridge police Chief Charles Robin Smith took office, he knew he wanted to find ways of reducing crime in the city.
The department already had crime maps displaying where and when different types of crimes occurred. The crime analyst explained how they could use the map to take a data-driven approach to crime and traffic safety.
Chief Smith said they tried it out and started seeing results within weeks. From the first nine months of 2018 to the first nine months of 2019, crime dropped about 18%.
"I can't necessarily stop them from being a criminal, but I can make them uncomfortable doing their business in our city," he said. "If I know where crimes are occurring, what time of day, what day of the week, what do I do? You do traffic enforcement."
Smith said not everyone the Oak Ridge Police Department stops is a criminal. However, some of them may be discouraged by the police presence alone.
"If the criminals are operating in that area, they're going to see people getting stopped," he said. "We want to focus in on those hot spot times."
The main strip of businesses between Illinois Avenue and the Oak Ridge Turnpike used to be one of those so-called hot spots.
In the last 90 days of increased traffic enforcement, Oak Ridge Police Department crime analyst Robert Hubbs said the number of incidents has decreased.
"It doesn't mean that we see a finish line," Hubbs said. "It just means that we continue to run in the race and it continues on."
Hubbs said he has taught many of members of the Oak Ridge police force how to use the data on their own in real time. It can also be used to determine where and when car crashes are more likely to occur.
"We obviously want to leverage this technology and make it more real time," he said. "Crime is never going to completely go away, but you might displace it."