The New York City Police Department’s Domain Awareness System

Abstract

The New York City Police Department (NYPD), the largest state or local police force in the United States, is charged with securing New York City from crime and terrorism. The NYPD’s Domain Awareness System (DAS) is a citywide network of sensors, databases, devices, software, and infrastructure that informs decision making by delivering analytics and tailored information to officers’ smartphones and precinct desktops. DAS development began in earnest in 2008; since then, the NYPD has used the system to employ a unique combination of analytics and information technology, including pattern recognition, machine learning, and data visualization. DAS is used throughout the NYPD, and the DAS software has been sold to other agencies, bringing in revenue for New York City. Through improving the efficiency of the NYPD’s staff, DAS has generated estimated savings of $50 million per year. Most importantly, the NYPD has used it to combat terrorism and improve its crime-fighting effectiveness. Since DAS was deployed department wide in 2013, the overall crime index in the city has fallen by six percent.