In 2012, Indiana University Northwest's Center for Urban and Regional Excellence facilitated discussions between the Gary Police Department and Joseph Ferrandino, Ph.D., of the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, in order to provide Gary police with crime maps that would help the department better allocate its services. Dr. Ferrandino provided the maps as a public service.
The partnership was so successful that other law enforcement agencies began asking for crime data analysis and soon thereafter, the idea of sharing data across departments for better regional law enforcement was born.
In 2014, a generous contribution from NIPSCO enabled the partners to create a database that allowed them to house and share their crime records for better policing, thus establishing the Northwest Indiana Public Safety Data Consortium.
The Times Media Co. is now a proud partner in this initiative, bringing this important public safety information directly to our readers. Our philosophy mirrors that of the NWIPSDC founders -- an informed citizenry contributes to public safety for all.
For the City of Gary, the initiative also reflects an important first step in Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson's Gary for Life Initiative, which focuses on reducing homicides in the city.
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