James Q. Wilson, a political science scholar and a pioneer in the community policing movement, died last week.  One of his best known articles was an Atlantic Monthly piece, co-authored with George L. Kelling,  that outlined the “Broken Windows” theory of criminology. Wilson’s theories focused on the premise that tending to the little things in a neighborhood—i.e., broken windows—helped prevent more serious crime.  In his research, Wilson found that disorder in a neighborhood often served as a precursor to crime.  Many police departments around the country responded by incorporating Wilson’s community policing theories in their programs and saw crime rates plummet as a result.

So, what’s the connection between community policing and 311/CRM systems?  Namely this, that 311/CRM systems allow local governments to collect trending data--for example, abandoned cars, building and other code violations, graffiti, damaged street lighting, and loitering to name a few “broken windows” if you will--and then track those call types by neighborhood.  These types of data provide early indicators that a neighborhood may need help, and allows local government service departments to work in conjunction with the police department to collectively to address problems before a neighborhood goes seriously downhill.

Planning for one such effort is underway in the City of Philadelphia.  The Honorable Michael Nutter, Mayor, has declared that one of his administration’s five strategic priorities for the city is for Philadelphia to become one of the safest cities in America.  And a key strategy for achieving this goal?  Philly311 plans to take over more of the City’s non-emergency calls and provide new data reports by neighborhood for this very purpose.  I think Professor Wilson would be impressed at the contributions 311/CRM systems are making.