The City of Peoria has started using a predictive policing method that will allow officers to be ready and placed where crimes are most likely to occur.
The program is called "HunchLab" and calculates particular locations and times where certain crimes will happen through historical trends, data, special events, weather, school and other information.
Officers will then be placed on a "mission" based on the data provided.
According to Peoria Police Department, the pilot program was launched in September 2015 and since then, 1,650 mission deployments have been made. Several arrests have been made with the help of "HunchLab" data.
“Even just having that one squad car in that area might prevent something from happening,” said Officer Brandon Sheffert.
“At the beginning of each shift it spits out that data and directs us where to go,” Sheffert said.
Out of curiosity, ABC15 wanted to check out information from a violent shooting that happened near 87th and Peoria avenues on Monday, February 15.
When we looked up the date and time of the incident, the system showed that a “violent crime” may occur in the area.
Even though they're just getting started the department has already caught some crooks red-handed.
“Officers were in a certain area on a directed mission and caught some people about to do a burglary,” said Sheffert.
