Policing with RTM Saves Money

Crime reductions are important to police agencies and the communities they serve for many reasons. One reason is that less crime saves money.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) estimated that preventing just 6 violent crimes could save local criminal justice systems $100,000 and free up more than 9 hours of a police officer's patrol time. Recent surveys show that 2/3 of gunshot victims are uninsured, yet the average nationwide cost of treating gunshot wounds in hospital is $21,000 per person. Just 10 fewer shootings could result in over $200,000 worth of hospital cost savings, and, of course, 10 lives possibly saved.

Based on these studies (links above) there’s a few ways to calculate costs based on crime and cost types. But conservative estimates based on *tangible costs only* for aggravated assaults equals $117,222: 6 assaults * $19,537. Hospitalizations from assault average $20,989 each * 6 = $125,934. So, assault crimes alone can easily total more than $200,000 in costs to local taxpayers. Homicides cost more, etc.

Risk Terrain Modeling (RTM) is crime analysis that helps answer where and why crime happens. It finds important spatial patterns in your data and then it uses this diagnosis to make accurate and actionable predictions. Policing with RTM makes every dollar spent on public safety more effective. It's smart policing.

​RTM is one reason given for Atlantic City's crime drop last year. The Atlantic City Police Department (ACPD) fully implemented risk-based policing with RTM in 2017, and they succeeded in achieving month-to-month crime reductions and higher case clearance rates, all while improving community relations. They were credited with a 36% reduction in violent crimes by the end of the year. This represents a potential cost savings to the local criminal justice system of over $1.6 million. 

RTMDx software yields huge returns on investment. RTM meets the demands of evidence-based policing in the 21st century.

This represents a potential cost savings to the local criminal justice system of over $1.6 million.