....On .Target

Target and LAPD Partner to Launch New Crime Fighting Capabilities July 7, 2008 Los Angeles: The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and Target have announced the formation of unique public-private partnership to foster safe families and communities in Southern California. The first step will be developing and deploying an automated Citywide Crime and Resources Dashboard. Because every second matters, this technology will make our community even safer by detecting and analyzing crime and emergencies as they happen.

LAPD Regional Crime Center analysts will use the Dashboard to monitor the overall “health” of the City relative to actual deployment, evolving emergencies, calls for service, suspicious activity reports, reported crimes and arrests, clearance rates and other specific criteria. When thresholds are met, the system will prompt decisions from senior managers regarding emerging crime trends, unusual occurrences, and developing situations or emergencies.

The LAPD anticipates many benefits, including a decrease in violent crime, investigative time, overtime, and detective backlog as well as increases in the number of arrests, collaborative law enforcement efforts and cooperation between LAPD and our private sector partners.

Chief Bratton expressed his gratitude to the Los Angeles Police Foundation for continuing to look for ways to improve public safety through partnerships with the business community. “This partnership is a major step in our collective efforts to ensure public safety in the Los Angeles region and I look forward to a long and successful Target & Blue partnership aimed at our bottom line which is ‘fewer victims.”

“Since the day Target opened its doors in 1962, the company has dedicated 5 percent of its income to making positive changes in the community. This is just one small way we can help build safe families and communities throughout Los Angeles,” said Bryan Nagel, Director of Assets Protection at Target. “Law enforcement officers are facing increasingly sophisticated criminals so it's important they have more innovative tools.”

This partnership is part of Target & BLUE, through which Target partners with local, state and federal law enforcement by providing equipment, grants, training and world-class forensic support.

For additional information, please contact Lieutenant Sean Malinowski, Regional Crime Center, LAPD at 213-978-6500, Florence Chung, Target Corporation at 626-844-1320, Karen Wagener, Los Angeles Police Foundation at 213-489-4636, or LAPD Media Relations Section at 213-485-3586.