US police use data to focus on places, not people, and cut crime by up to 40%

US police are cutting crime by using risk-based policing to forecast where incidents are most likely to occur. The strategy relies on Risk Terrain Modelling, a method of analysis that identifies correlations between specific street features and criminal activity. The approach has cut gun crime in Newark by 35%, car theft in Colorado Springs by 33% and robberies in Glendale, Arizona by 40%.