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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (May 6, 2022)
MAY 06, 2022, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A5 Keizer’s crime analyst is department’s hub BY CHARLES GLENN Of the Keizertimes Keizer Patrol Division Supervisor Lt. Andrew Copeland describes the city’s Crime Analyst, Cara Steele, as “the hub” for the police department in fighting crime. Every section of the department relies on her work and nearly every piece of import- ant criminal data in the region crosses her desk on a daily basis. Steele’s primary focus is supporting the department’s Problem-Oriented Policing philosophy, which was recently featured in Keizertimes. That breaks down into various inter-department and state-and-local part- nerships which she leverages to do her job. She has been in the profession for more than 20 years in police departments from Temple, Texas to Salem, and said Keizer is not that different from the metropolitan areas she’s worked in, in the sense that she’s in near-constant communication with local and county officials all over the state the same way she once coordinated with pre- cincts in Salem. “The data set is often smaller, but the principles are the same,” she said. Crime analysts use data and intelli- gence to essentially predict where and when a crime is most likely to occur, help- ing officers to be in the right place at the right time to not only catch offenders, but brainfood to prevent crime. “Some of it is tucking stuff in the back of my head and pulling it out at the right time,” she said. “But it’s also about looking at a lot of different sources and putting things together and then working with the officers who are out talking to the people.” Steele meets with the patrol division every morning, listens to the officers about what they are seeing and hearing, reads police reports, watches surveillance video, assists detectives in their investi- gations, goes on patrol with officers at times, and helps the department collect the evidence and information they need to successfully take a case to the district attorney for prosecution. “That’s just what she does in the first 15 minutes of her day,” said Copeland. (method of operation) and could this be linked to them? Do we have surveillance information?” She combines this with at data from surrounding jurisdictions in order to track individuals and criminal trends, and according to Copeland it’s been very suc- cessful. He cited the department’s ability to stop the recent trend of mailbox thefts as one example. On a practical level, she asks a lot of questions all day long, such as: “Do we have known offenders in a specific area? What is their Crime Analyst Cara Steele, left, with Patrol Division Super- visor Lt. Andrew Copeland. Photo by CHARLES GLENN of the Keizertimes P LICE Scanner Sunday, April 24 12:22 a.m. - Arrest for driving under the influence of intoxicants in the 1000 block of McGee Court NE. 1:30 a.m. - Burglary in the 4000 block of River Road N. 3 a.m. - Theft from motor vehicle in the 4000 block of 13th Avenue NE. 3:20 a.m. - Burglary in the 4000 block of River Road N. 9:36 a.m. - Criminal mischief in the 1000 block of Clearview Avenue NE. 1:04 p.m. - Shoplifting in the 4000 block of River Road N. 5:35 p.m. - Theft in the 6000 block of Ulali Drive NE. Monday, April 25 10:21 a.m. - Motor vehicle theft in the 1000 block of Chemawa Road N. 2 p.m. - Shoplifting in the 6000 block of Keizer Station Boulevard NE. 4:38 p.m. - Unlawful entry to vehi- cle in the 3000 block of River Road N. 6:03 p.m. - Burglary in the 3000 block of River Road N. Tuesday, April 26 12:13 a.m. - Driving under the influence of intoxicants in the 1000 block of McGee Court NE. 12:48 a.m. - Unauthorized use of motor vehicle in the 1000 block of Chemawa Road N. 12:49 p.m. - Theft in the 5000 block of 8th Avenue NE. 5:31 p.m. - Fleeing a police officer in the 6000 block of Ulali Drive NE. 6:23 p.m. - Shoplifting in the 6000 block of Ulali Drive NE. Wednesday, April 27 7:33 a.m. - Bicycle theft in the 500 block of Chemawa Road N. 1:33 p.m. - Theft in the 100 block of Apple Blossom Avenue N. 2:55 p.m. - Shoplifting in the 4000 block of River Road N. 4 p.m. - Criminal mischief in the 6000 block of Ulali Drive NE. 5:30 p.m. - Theft from motor vehi- cle in the 1000 block of Claxter Road NE. 6:47 p.m. - Shoplifting in the 4000 block of River Road N. 6:54 p.m. - Failure to perform duties of driver when property was damaged at the intersection of Chemawa Road NE. and Verda Lane NE. 7:28 p.m. - Criminal mischief in the 1000 block of McGee Court NE. 10 p.m. - Motor vehicle theft in the 900 block of Apple Blossom Avenue NE. Thursday, April 28 7 a.m. - Mail theft in the 500 block of Larry Avenue N. 7:01 a.m. - Criminal trespassing in the 3000 block of River Road N. 7:15 p.m. - Criminal trespassing in the 1000 block of Brandon Avenue NE. 8:07 p.m. - Disorderly conduct in the 6000 block of Ulali Drive NE. Friday, April 29 8:38 a.m. - Motor vehicle theft in the 4000 block of 12th Avenue NE. 10:11 p.m. - Assault in the 1000 block of Dearborn Avenue NE.
