Columbia, South Carolina

Institutionalizing Data and Analysis into Police Intelligence and Practices

Columbia Police Patch

Site LE Agency
Columbia Police Department

Site Researcher
Jeff Rojek, Ph.D., University of South Carolina

Site Focus
Violent Crime, Property Crime

SPI Strategy
Institutionalization of intelligence-led policing

Site Cohort
2012

Site Profile
Mid-sized urban area of 132.21 sq. miles with a population of 131,833

Project Overview

The Columbia SPI focused on implementing organizational change to become a more data-driven agency oriented towards using intelligence-led and evidence-based approaches. The Columbia SPI team developed the Integrated Data Exchange and Analysis (IDEA) Project (modeled after the British National Intelligence Model), which consisted of three pilot projects: targeting repeat and near-repeat burglaries in the city’s north region, improving the understanding and use of data-drive policing strategies department-wide, and using network analysis to build intelligence on gangs. As a result, the Columbia Police Department (CPD) developed a comprehensive gang intelligence database and experienced overall declines in both repeat and near-repeat burglaries in the intervention area.

Methods and Findings

  • When surveying the Columbia, SC community, burglaries emerged as the top concern for residents of the target neighborhood, with 67 percent identifying it as a serious problem.
  • Results of the intervention indicated overall declines in both repeat and near-repeat burglaries in the intervention area.
  • The Columbia Police Department (CPD) was able to develop a consolidated gang intelligence database including 823 individuals and 1,451 ties among them.