What are peer exchanges?

National Public Safety Partnership (PSP) peer exchanges are learning opportunities that seek to increase capacity and knowledge for participating agencies by sharing promising practices, real-world examples, and lessons learned. Agendas for requested visits are tailored based upon each site's needs—visits can include one-on-one exchanges between a hosting and requesting agency or multisite group peer exchanges to a host location. Please contact us for more information. This section highlights peer exchange activities from October through December 2019.

Baltimore to Chicago—Strategic Decision Support Centers and Technology

Representatives from PSP site Baltimore, Maryland’s Police Department (PD) visited the Chicago, Illinois, PD’s Strategic Decision Support Center (SDSC) and Area Technology Center (ATC) on October 24–25.
During this visit, the PSP Baltimore representatives observed the functions and operation of the SDSCs/ATCs and interacted with personnel associated with each of the centers. PSP Baltimore also toured the Chicago PD's Crime Prevention and Information Center and met with a representative of the State's Attorney's Office.

Kansas City to Milwaukee—Shooting Review

Representatives from the Kansas City, Missouri, PD; the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office; and the Kansas City No Violence Alliance (KC NoVA) visited the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, PD to observe its shooting review on November 20–21. During this visit, PSP Kansas City learned about Milwaukee's approach to nonfatal shooting investigations and observed its shooting review meeting and processes, with hopes to enhance
Kansas City's own processes. PSP Kansas City also observed the Special Investigations Unit, the Sensitive Crime Division, and the Criminal Investigations Bureau. PSP Kansas City also received a brief on the crime analysis capabilities of the Milwaukee PD, as well as the Fusion Unit. 

Tulsa to Memphis—Real Time Crime Center

Representatives from the Tulsa, Oklahoma, PD participated in a PSP peer-to-peer visit and in-depth briefing with the Memphis, Tennessee, PD regarding its Real Time Crime Center (RTCC). The Tulsa PD is planning to develop a Real Time Information Center (RTIC) and has begun efforts to educate the department's command staff, analysts, and technologists, along with city leadership, about the benefits of the RTIC. Tulsa leadership has provided provisional support for the development of the Tulsa RTIC, and the Tulsa PD is beginning to build out an operational development proposal. The Tulsa PD has requested assistance from peer PSP sites to provide advice on the development phases and initial costs and considerations for standing up an RTCC.

Miami to Cincinnati—National Integrated Ballistic Information Network

Representatives from the Miami, Florida, PD participated in a peer exchange with the Cincinnati, Ohio, PD. During this visit, PSP Miami conducted an informal presentation on its current state and initial goals/objectives for enhancing its National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) program. The Cincinnati PD provided background information on the establishment of its NIBIN program, conducted a NIBIN tour, and provided information related to the processes, personnel, policy, and operations undertaken by its NIBIN program.

El Paso Intelligence Center Visit 

On December 9, PSP sites Amarillo, Texas; Anniston, Alabama; Baltimore; Davenport, Iowa; Harris County, Texas; and Oxford, Alabama, visited the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC). During this peer exchange, site participants received a tour of the EPIC facility and received briefings on EPIC's capabilities, the EPIC portal, and using EPIC for gang interdiction. Since returning from this peer exchange, at least one of the visiting sites signed up for the EPIC portal. Participant feedback from this visit was overwhelmingly positive, with one attendee noting that the "capabilities of EPIC are amazing."

Tulsa Crime Analysis Summit

In November, Tulsa held a one-day crime analysis summit to showcase and discuss the importance of crime analysis in public safety efforts. This meeting included representatives from the Tulsa PD, the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office, the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office, and the U.S. Attorney's Office—Northern District of Oklahoma to discuss leveraging crime analysis citywide.  A PSP crime analysis subject-matter expert was present for this meeting to provide her perspective and expertise on the potential of crime analysis. This meeting also included time for the command staff and crime analysts from the Tulsa PD to focus on the vision for the new crime analysis unit.

PSP Features at the 2019 International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference

Several PSP site teams attended the International Association of Chiefs of Police's (IACP) annual conference in Chicago on October 26–29 to participate in panel presentations regarding relevant topics facing PSP sites and law enforcement as a whole.

Participating PSP sites and topics included the following:

Best Way to Engage Communities Through Outreach
Panel Participants:  Indianapolis, Indiana, Metropolitan PD; Jackson, Mississippi, PD; Memphis, Tennessee, PD;  West Memphis, Arkansas, PD

Where Do We Go From Here? Leadership Response to Violent Crime
Panel Participants:  Chicago PD; Milwaukee PD; Salisbury, North Carolina, PD

How to Do More With Less for Fighting Violent Crime: Addressing Resource Constraints
Panel Participants:  Baton Rouge, Louisiana, PD; Metropolitan Nashville, Tennessee, PD

Association of Prosecuting Attorneys' Safety and Justice Challenge Leadership Institute

Prosecutorial representatives from PSP sites Amarillo; Anchorage, Alaska; Anniston; Baltimore; Baton Rouge; Cleveland, Ohio; Davenport; Harris County; and Oxford attended the Eighth Association of Prosecuting Attorneys' Safety and Justice Challenge Leadership Institute in East Baton Rouge in December. This event focused on data collection and integration and general informatics technology, as well as community engagement. Participants collaborated and shared strategic approaches that they have used in their respective jurisdictions to gather, integrate, and analyze data and implement technological advances in their communities and various criminal justice reform initiatives.  

Attendees at this event remarked:

Bringing prosecutors together from across the U.S. has proven to be the fastest way to implement change and deploy new strategies for crime prevention, community engagement, improved discovery mechanisms, and office transparence.
—District Attorney Hillar Moore (East Baton Rouge)

Having the opportunity to meet with peers who are struggling with the same issues, and have frank discussions was very helpful.
—Assistant District Attorney JoAnne Musick (Harris County)