Hoodline, April 2025
The Wauwatosa Police Department is shifting gears, focusing on data to tackle crime – and they’re not doing it alone. In a collaboration with Northeastern University’s Crime Prevention Lab, and guided by Dr. Eric Piza, the department is driving a pioneering project on hot spots policing, an approach that zeros in on specific areas with a high frequency of criminal activity. “National research shows that for any city, about 4-5% of places (street corners or street blocks) account for 50-75% of crime,” Dr. Piza was quoted saying in a statement obtained by the City of Wauwatosa’s official news release, highlighting the logic behind this strategy.
The Wauwatosa Police Department is shifting gears, focusing on data to tackle crime – and they’re not doing it alone. In a collaboration with Northeastern University’s Crime Prevention Lab, and guided by Dr. Eric Piza, the department is driving a pioneering project on hot spots policing, an approach that zeros in on specific areas with a high frequency of criminal activity. “National research shows that for any city, about 4-5% of places (street corners or street blocks) account for 50-75% of crime,” Dr. Piza was quoted saying in a statement obtained by the City of Wauwatosa’s official news release, highlighting the logic behind this strategy.
