Civic News

How geolocation helped Philly cops catch “The Grinch That Stole Christmas” [VIDEO]

Detective Justin Frank told the story to a crowd of more than 14,000 GIS professionals at the annual Esri International User Conference in San Diego earlier this month.

Grant Ervin, the City of Philadelphia's Public Safety GIS director, presents at the Esri's annual Users Conference.

Thanks to the Philadelphia Police Department‘s award-winning new crime mapping system, Philly cops managed to nab “The Grinch That Stole Christmas.” That is, a man who broke into South Philadelphia’s St. Gabriel’s Convent two nights in a row during the holidays and made off with more than $1,800 in money for food and gifts for the poor.

Detective Justin Frank told the story to a crowd of more than 14,000 GIS professionals at the annual Esri International User Conference in San Diego earlier this month.

The police GIS software won a Special Achievement Award from Esri in May. Project manager Grant Ervin said it’s changing the way the Police Department “works and thinks.”

Watch a video of the presentation below. Find a bigger version here (scroll through the videos to find the Philly one).

Companies: Philadelphia Police Department
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