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Innovate16 techlifemag.ca
Two years after EdmontonTransit started using thecrime-forecasting softwaredeveloped by Stephane Contré(seen here on the ChurchillStation LRT platform),reactive calls have dropped52 per cent and proactivecalls have risen 159 per cent.Story ByMichelle MarkPhoto byJason NessWeb ExtraWatch the announcement of thewinner of novaNAIT‘s inauguraltechnology and business ideascontest.techlifemag.ca/novanaitchallenge.htmAfter a group of oil company contractors narrowly escapeda hail of bullets on a quiet road in the heart of Africa,Stephane Contré knew he was on to something.A security advisor with EnCana from 2003 to 2005 in thecentral African country of Chad, Contré had warned workers not totravel the over 200-kilometre route between their headquarters inthe nation’s capital, N'Djamena, and their drilling site at Bongor, onweekday evenings because of repeated encounters with highwayrobbers. But that night, delayed by mechanical problems, a convoyof workers opted to push ahead rather than wait until morning. Itwas a decision that could have cost them their lives. About an hourinto the trip, they were ambushed by gun-wielding attackers whofired on the trucks; a bullet pierced the windshield of one truck,nearly hitting the driver.Tasked with analyzing crime data from that region, Contréwas already noticing a pattern unfold, so it was no surprise tohim when he heard about the harrowing ordeal. “As it worked out,the robberies were highly correlated with the times when localarmy soldiers were off-duty,” Contré recalls. “A distinctive patternemerged and it related to the time of day and day of week.”Recognizing that pattern led Contré to develop an innovativecrime-forecasting software program that’s now being used to keepEdmonton Transit riders safer – and which recently won novaNAIT’sinaugural technology and business ideas contest.Bringing his idea to fruition, however, posed many obstacles.He had no background in the programming language and softwareneeded to develop a platform for his unprecedented analysisapplication. He encountered numerous data quality issues. He alsolacked the skills necessary to commercialize the product. Contréhad a lot to learn. But he persevered.Today, the Daily Crime Forecast is being piloted by his currentemployer, Edmonton Transit System (ETS). The software analyzescrime data to identify patterns in criminal or suspicious activity andgenerates forecasts for when and where such activity is likely tohappen. And the results are staggering.Two years after the software was implemented, reactive callsdropped 52 per cent, while proactive calls rose 159 per cent.v2.2 2009 17
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