CrimeSmart, a program funded by a Byrne Grant from the Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention and administered by BMC, began its second year by introducing high-tech crime fighting tools to the Crisfield PD, Princess Anne PD, Seat Pleasant PD, District Heights PD and Howard County Sheriff's Office. At a briefing at BMC on January 15, attendees were given an overview of the CrimeSmart project and computerized crime mapping techniques, a demonstration of the SLAM (Street-Level Activity Mapping) software that each jurisdiction will receive, and a presentation by a current SLAM user.

SLAM was developed by BMC in cooperation with the Baltimore County Police Department as a tool to map criminal activity in a specified geographic area. BMC refined the software so that it could be customized for use by any police department using its own definitions of activity and boundary areas.

Under the CrimeSmart program, BMC provides SLAM software, computer equipment, training and support services to smaller law enforcement agencies. Law enforcement agencies participating in the first year included the Howard County, Westminster and Laurel Police Departments; Maryland State Police Barracks in Bel Air and Salisbury; and the Wicomico Sheriff's Office.

Using feedback suggestions from the initial participants, BMC upgraded SLAM to fix bugs in the original program, enhance existing features, and add functionality. The new system is also more portable and user-friendly.

System design, installation and training are currently under way for the second year participants.

CrimeSmart is one more way in which BMC provides technical assistance to local jurisdictions on contract or through grants.