SHREVEPORT, La. — Local officials say a majority of domestic violence victims often do not report repeated abuse to law enforcement immediately, or sometimes at all.
A new partnership between the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office and the technology firm SIMSI is attempting to bridge that gap. By analyzing spatial data, the software will look for specific environmental settings and repeating patterns where crime tends to happen.
Developers say the entire process is designed to build a "village" around survivors who may be afraid to call the police.
"Part of the process of preventing domestic violence is making sure that there are avenues to ask for support, to get the services that are needed, to report to the police or other trusted partners, and to make sure that the kind of wraparound services to provide to those victims are available, and that includes a village," said Joel Caplan, COO of SIMSI.
Data collection for the Caddo Parish area is already underway. Program developers say hundreds of cities nationwide are already using this model.