Countywide : Police Trade Data in War Against Crime

A new program to analyze crime patterns and predict trends, the first program of its kind in California, was announced Wednesday by representatives of eight Orange County law enforcement agencies.

The new group, ProAct, an acronym for Proactive Resource Organization Against Crime Through Technology, will provide participating agencies with regular crime bulletins and newsletters as well as regional crime forecasts.

“Should a person who commits a crime in one city and crosses the border into another community be reasonably safe from apprehension? Of course not,” said Huntington Beach Police Sgt. William Van Cleve.

Participating agencies are the Sheriff’s Department and the police departments of Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Newport Beach, Seal Beach and Westminster.

Van Cleve, who came up with the idea for the program while compiling an auto theft database for his Police Department two years ago, said ProAct will enable police departments to work more closely with one another.

“There’s so much data out there,” said Van Cleve, “and it’s difficult to organize it and share it with other agencies. ProAct may not be a panacea, but it’s a step in the right direction.”

The program is expected to cost about $216,000 a year, funded by a three-year grant from the California Office of Criminal Justice Planning. Under the provisions of the grant, law enforcement agencies will contribute personnel and facilities.

Nancy McFaul, the director of ProAct, predicted that bringing all of the police departments together on a common database will be a slow process because the level of automation in the police departments varies from city to city.

Citing the large number of automobiles that are stolen in one city and recovered in another, Lowenberg said ProAct will initially concentrate on compiling and disseminating information. ProAct will eventually expand to include other crimes, he said.