Frequently Asked Questions
How can Simsi work for you
Overview
Simsi, Inc. provides data-driven solutions for public safety and community well-being using Risk Terrain Modeling (RTM) technology. Our SaaS Analytics platform helps identify environmental factors that contribute to safety issues and guides effective interventions.
ActionHub helps teams work together to achieve crime prevention goals.
Simsi Services include automation and assistance to achieve your vision, no matter what internal capacity you may have.
Risk Terrain Modeling (RTM) is an approach to spatial risk analysis that identifies environmental factors that contribute to crime and other harmful behaviors. It helps diagnose why certain places experience problems by examining the spatial features that create opportunities for crime.
The key to RTM is what you do next – with a better understanding of your community, what other stakeholders can help you create safer spaces?
RTM, implemented through Simsi’s software, has been validated in over 75 studies across 40+ countries over the past 15 years. The research foundation at Rutgers Center on Public Security and independent researchers around the world have consistently demonstrated its effectiveness across various contexts and problem types.
We view our process as “diagnostic.” We help you understand the environmental conditions that contribute to problems, allowing for targeted interventions to address root causes.
Simsi is about prevention, not mere enforcement. When you focus on “predictive policing,” you assume that you will always be chasing the crime trend. We try to help you prevent it in the first place.
We use your local data to drive our analyses. We don’t make assumptions about your community based on what we’ve seen elsewhere. Your specific context and data inform all insights and recommendations.
Simsi looks at patterns of human behavior, which change just like the seasons, the school years, and the businesses that open and close where you work.
Yes! We provide comprehensive training for all users of our platform. We also offer ongoing support and professional development through our learning community.
You can also get an introduction to Risk-based Policing through the International Association of Crime Analysts or schedule one of our workshops on DICE™, Risk-based Policing, or Procedurally-just Policing.
Contact our team to schedule a consultation. We’ll discuss your specific needs, data availability, and how our solutions can be tailored to your community.
Working with Simsi
Most communities have more data than they realize. We can work with various data sources including:
- Law enforcement records
- Open source crime data
- Sentiment data
- Private or secured corporate data
- 311 calls
- Code enforcement records
- Business license information
- And many other data sources
Unlike hot spot analysis, which is density-based and requires large amounts of historical crime data for accurate “predictions”, RTM:
- Can work effectively with smaller data sets
- Identifies environmental risk factors, not just where crimes occurred
- Remains effective as crime begins to reduce
- Provides actionable insights about why problems occur in specific locations
Importantly, since hot spot enforcement relies solely on historical data, you are usually reacting to the hot spot as opposed to seeking more preventive measures. Simsi helps you get ahead of the curve with both existing hotspots as identifying places that are vulnerable to that behavior in the future.
No! Simsi Analytics can be applied to communities of all sizes. Our technology is designed to be sensitive to small amounts of data and can immediately adapt to the unique characteristics of your community.
Simsi software creates templated report options and user-friendly interfaces (like Simsi Mobile) designed for quick adoption. Our solutions are built to translate analytics into actionable insights that don’t require advanced technical knowledge to understand and implement.
From large, complex organizations with internal analytical capacity, to small organizations who need to outsource all of their work – we have solutions for your needs.
We understand resource constraints. Simsi can provide:
- Automated analyses and reporting
- Templated delivery formats
- Professional services to support implementation and adoption
- Training and support for your team
Simsi isn’t a consultancy that takes a snapshot in time. As a SaaS platform:
- Your local data continuously drives analyses – we don’t lump crimes together or make assumptions about what influences your community
- You can run analyses as frequently as needed
- The system adapts to changing trends in your community
- You gain ongoing insights rather than one-time recommendations
Simsi’s technology has been successfully applied to numerous fields including:
- Law enforcement
- Public health
- Traffic safety
- Code enforcement
- Community development
- Conservation
- And many others
Check our Solutions pages for examples, or reach out to discuss your specific needs.
DICE™ and Public Safety Collaboratives
DICE™ is a framework that pairs spatial risk analysis with community engagement to create people-centric approaches to public safety. It combines the analytical power of RTM with strategic community involvement.
The DICE™ Framework can be implemented by various groups including:
- Municipal governments
- Law enforcement agencies
- Public health departments
- Community organizations (like Public Safety Collaboratives)
- Multi-agency task forces
A Public Safety Collaborative (PSC) is a group of community stakeholders which is meant to be inclusive both vertically, from concerned, informal community leaders, to formal elected or appointed officials – and horizontally, including people with knowledge, skills, and expertise in a variety of fields, from community organizers, to policing and public health.
Everyone has a seat at the table in a PSC, so when they work together to implement DICE™ you can apply what each stakeholder does best to the places that need it most.