OKC Police Create Intelligence Led Policing Team

Adrianna Iwasinski, News 9

This September will mark the 10 year anniversary since the 9-11 attacks.

Shortly after the twin towers came crumbling down, a new method of crime fighting came to being called intelligence led policing.

Now, it's becoming the way many police departments nationwide fight not only terrorism, but day to day crime.

In fact, Oklahoma City's top cop says intelligence led policing is real, and the wave of the future.

"The one thing I want the public to know is we think it's going to make it a safer place to live,"  said Oklahoma City Police Chief Bill Citty. "We think its going to help us do our job better."

Chief Citty set up his own intelligence-led policing team after a meeting with a police chief in Canada and with the world-reknown, Scotland Yard.

On a spreadsheet, Major Mike Hoskins is able to identify the "players" and even the specific weapons used in crimes.

Officers pour over similar reports, looking for patterns and trends from crimes that have happened within the past 12 to 24 hours. If they see something, they call an officer on the street right away.

It helps officers break down the time crimes are occurring, where the current hotspots are, and who the possible suspects and future victims are.

And these officers say they can't do it without the public's help. Anonymous tips are crucial.

Police say often times it's that one person out in the field that has that has that final piece of the puzzle that can help solve a crime or prevent one from happening.