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.