Pictometry. How the JSO used the Land Mapping System to Solve Crime in '06

[stephendare]

City of Jacksonville, FL Maximizes its Applications for Pictometry Technology
December 18, 2006

From Public Safety and Appraisal to Residential Viewing Capabilities, Duval County Finds Continuous Uses for Aerial Imaging System

ROCHESTER, NY â€" December 18, 2006 â€" Pictometry International Corp., the worldwide leader in digital, aerial oblique imagery and measuring software today announced that the Consolidated City of Jacksonville, FL has successfully implemented its aerial imaging program in a multitude of applications.

Pictometry’s industry-leading software enables users to easily access up to 20 different oblique (at an angle in a 3D-like manner) views of any property, building, highway, or other feature. The software also enables users to obtain measurements such as distance, height, elevation, and area directly from the oblique imagery as well as overlay GIS data and create fully textured Pictometry Real3Dâ,,¢ models.

"We have been able to use this software in a distributed environment through an ESRI ArcIMS deployment," said Jacksonville GIS manager George Chakhtoura. The city has deployed Pictometry on their web site for use by local residents. "We continue to receive very positive feedback from the community about the imagery available on our city Web site," said Chakhtoura. "Users can activate the imagery online and it has been a valuable tool for the general public. The positives are too numerous to count and it’s saving us tons of money."

"The GIS functions on our Web site are tremendously popular and useful to both government employees and our citizens," agreed Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton. "They were particularly helpful in planning events and security for Super Bowl XXXIX last year, and we continue to find ways to use this technology to provide better, faster, and cheaper services to our taxpayers."

The city’s Public Works department uses Pictometry to inventory items such as trees, streetlights, manhole covers, and other assets, and to gauge the condition of roadways, sidewalks and bridges, as well as land usage.

Jim Overton, Property Appraiser of Duval County, says his agency uses Pictometry on a regular basis. "Pictometry gives our appraisers an immediate visual reference for a property, often while we’re on the phone with a taxpayer. We can check size and physical characteristics sometimes instead of a physical inspection, so it saves time. It’s a great productivity tool for us."

Public safety uses for Pictometry in Jacksonville continue to grow in scope and in unique applications. According to the County’s 9-1-1 Coordinator, Patricia Welte, the City is currently reviewing options for deploying the visual data in its 9-1-1 centers for improved call response handling. This phase of the project is expected to be completed concurrently with several 9-1-1 equipment upgrades during 2007.

Within the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, Pictometry has a wide range of uses. According to George A. Brown II, GIS manager for the Sheriff’s Office, the visual data meets key needs for the organization, including tactical, investigative, traffic deployment, crowd control, event planning, evacuations, and information sharing. "We have recently introduced Pictometry to our Homeland Security Division for use in the security issues that may arise within our City," says Brown. "Our SWAT team is preparing their Mobile Command Center to be equipped with Pictometry to be used for all SWAT callouts. This will provide the SWAT teams with clear visuals of any location from all sides without putting our people or citizens in harm’s way. Our Tactical Support Unit has been using the software for preplanning that allows them to know exactly where fences, sheds, walls, porches, and decks are prior to entering a house or building. We would be lacking a key ingredient to the overall workings of our agency without this program."

Last year Pictometry was used by crime analysts in the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office to solve a string of business burglaries that targeted automatic teller machines (ATM). After recognition of a crime pattern by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office’s Crime Analysis Unit, maps and reports were created detailing date and time specifics, method of operation, and potential suspects. Site assessments of previously hit businesses were then conducted by reviewing Pictometry’s aerial oblique imagery. Predictive analysis from these site characteristics enabled the plotting of potential future crime sites based on the aerial data. Ultimately, four suspects were apprehended at a location previously designated as a potential target from the Pictometry-enabled predictive analysis. "Without the assistance of the aerial photography in the site assessments of the initial locations and other financial institutions in the Jacksonville area, developing a potential target list would have been unrealistic," said Jamie Roush, Crime Analyst for Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.

Wonder what our city could do with Google Earth?

[NotNow]

"Wonder what our city could do with Google Earth?"



Not sure what you mean....