Location intelligence in the public sector is really taking off.
Local councils are finding a host of innovative uses for this technology, improving operations and reducing costs in the process.
Here, we’ll look at some of the key areas in which location intelligence is already helping to ensure smarter governance:
Prime examples of location intelligence in the public sector
Location intelligence in the public sector will play a greater role in the future. But, the technology has already revolutionised a whole host of governance practices, including:
Law enforcement
Law enforcement agencies have already seen the benefits of location intelligence, reducing crime rates significantly in areas where the technology is now deployed.
Location intelligence allows police to:
- Visualise and measure criminal activity geographically
- Track crime trends: frequency, type, severity, similarities etc.
- Predict where and when criminal activity is most likely to take place
In combination, these law enforcement bodies now deploy resources more effectively.
Officers can be placed to prevent crimes in high-risk areas. Broader preventative and awareness-related steps can also be taken to decrease certain crimes in specific areas.
Council tax
Local authorities are using location intelligence to detect council tax avoidance, and with great success.
In Wales, two city councils (Newport and Cardiff) have generated a combined £260,000 in additional tax revenue. Estimates suggest this method could generate £7m if deployed nationwide.
The councils achieved this by using location intelligence to improve address management. Previously, basic records would be stored across multiple departments, creating inaccuracies.
Houses could be wrongly categorised, or missed off the map altogether, leading to inaccurate taxation and a loss of tax revenue overall.
They’ve now created an ‘Address Base’ combining data from the Local Land and Property Gazetteer, Royal Mail and Ordnance Survey.
This data is then plotted on a digital map. Councils can then attribute council tax-related data – such as occupancy changes and council tax bands – to specific addresses to quickly identify residents who need to pay more.
Waste management
Councils are already using location intelligence to hone their waste management processes, and further developments are in the pipeline.
Location intelligence can be used to check that resources are properly positioned. For instance, council workers could plot the location of all household waste and recycling centres within a defined area.
Using location intelligence, council staff could plot estimated drive times automatically to see whether all local residents had a centre within easy reach.
Even smarter methods are also being developed. Academics and waste management systems are working on fitting refuse containers with sensors featuring IoT functionality.
These sensors transmit data on the status of the container (location/space remaining). When processed using location intelligence software, councils can use this data to intelligently organise refuse collection to avoid overspill or unnecessary trips.
With local council budgets stretched further than ever before, these examples show you can rely on location intelligence to help you do more with less.
Discover how location intelligence can make public sector and commercial governance more effective by calling on the expert Newgrove team.