Agile Policing Strategy

Agile Policing Strategy is a data-oriented approach to crime implemented by the Seattle Police Department, and unveiled October 7, 2015. The approach was developed to increase the responsiveness or agility of the department to address crime and disorder problems through the real-time surfacing, visualization, analysis, and sharing of data across all necessary operational units of the police department. Organizationally this is accomplished through the SPD’s Real Time Crime Center, which houses the technology, analytical support and command structure.
The idea for the Agile Policing Strategy was developed by Greg Russell, Mike Wagers, Robert Merner, and Kathleen O’Toole, who were trying to figure out how best to deploy and utilize department resources to effectively address citizen concerns. It has its roots in Agile manufacturing, “which is a term applied to an organization that has created the processes, tools, and training to enable it to respond quickly to customer needs and market changes while still controlling costs and quality.”