"Before the creation of the Real Time Crime Center, it would take hours or days to access the wealth of information now available to detectives within minutes," said Deputy Commissioner V. James Onalfo, chief information officer, NYPD. "As the data integration backbone of the Real Time Crime Center, Informatica PowerCenter helps turn immense amounts of raw data from disparate sources into a cohesive and understandable 'big picture' that is immediately leverageable by detectives in the field." In February of this year, New York City Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly announced: "We want to use every advantage technology has to offer in suppressing crime. With the Real Time Crime Center, our detectives have a new partner in crime fighting."
Launched in 2005 and further expanded earlier this year, the Real Time Crime Center equips investigators with valuable crime-solving information even before they reach the crime scene. Starting with 911 calls, the Informatica data integration platform integrates information in real time across a rapidly expanding set of data sources, both internal and external to the department.
This in turn powers a real-time dashboard accessed by 115 detective squads and eight investigative-response vans working on homicides, shootings and other serious cases. In a matter of seconds, investigators can delve into previously hidden details and suspects culled from historical and real-time sources.
"Previously, when consolidating data across diverse systems, the NYPD relied on custom-coded, COBOL-based data integration programs, which are costly and time-consuming to write and difficult to change," said Onalfo. "We now have an enterprise data integration platform capable of sustaining our full range of integration projects in a high-quality, plug-and-play fashion."
More than 10 systems and databases are currently integrated by Informatica in real time, with more being added each month. One of these is a massive data warehouse housing more than 120 million New York City criminal complaints and 911 call records dating back to 1995, more than five million New York State criminal records, more than 31 million national crime records and 35 billion public records. Other systems include the NYPD's Computer Aided Dispatch system, New York City's 911 system, and even a tattoo database.
"Government agencies worldwide are rich in information -- the question is whether they are able to leverage the full value of the data. In many cases, the data resides in information silos that must be shared and integrated before it becomes meaningful," said Brian Gentile, chief marketing officer, Informatica. "With its Real Time Crime Center, the NYPD powerfully demonstrates the power of data integration to gain a holistic view of critical data which, in this case, has measurably improved public safety in the nation's largest city."
