Hartford Police Department hires crime analyst to measure officer effectiveness

Hartford police say they believe data can help them become a better department. Enter Amie Wunderlich, Hartford's newest crime data analyst.

Chief Greg Sheldon says Hartford will be one of the first departments, outside of the state police, to create an official crime analyst position.

"If we don't have a way to measure the efforts and the effectiveness or efficiencies of our officers, how do we know we're doing a good job and making a difference?"

The chief says Wunderlich will analyze information from the department's own software, to determine if certain approaches are more effective than others. He says this may be especially important in determining situations where a non-profit community partner should be called instead, such as in cases of mental health crises, housing issues or food insecurity.

"We're not always the best tool, so who do we get involved in that? And that's part of the data crime analyst position responsibilities, is to get that information to us as command staff and to the public, so the public understands our struggles," said the chief.

In addition to the analyst's data being shared with officers, trends will be also shared with community partners and the public during bi-weekly meetings called "Hart-Stats." Chief Sheldon says he hopes the meetings will provide people with a better understanding of community needs.

Wunderlich, meanwhile, says she is ready and excited to become a community resource.

"I'm really just looking forward to being able to take the perception of the community's sense of safety and overlap with what we're seeing at the police department."

Although Wunderlich is still adjusting to her role, she says her door is quote "always open."