MUSKEGON, Mich. — Muskegon police are using a new software system called Urban SDK to monitor speeding citywide and help officers respond more effectively where it's needed most.
WATCH: Muskegon police using new software to track speeding across the city
Muskegon Police Chief Tim Kozal said the technology tracks how fast vehicles are traveling across the entire city, then analyzes that data to identify areas with a higher likelihood of accidents.
"Every single vehicle from 1977 forward has something inside that vehicle that gets pinged every three seconds," Kozal said.
The department frequently receives speeding complaints in the Lakeshore area, but Kozal said officers often lack the specific details needed to take enforcement action.
"I'm very sensitive to our citizens and how they feel about speed in their neighborhoods. It happens. I'm not disqualifying that. But we need to figure out when it actually occurs, so we can utilize this data as a force multiplier to put our cops there when it's needed," Kozal said.
Urban SDK gives the department the ability to narrow down not just where speeding is happening, but when.
“We're also able to drill down even further, to look not only at what day of the week, but the time of the day so that we can appropriately put our officers out there to figure out where those spikes might be, so we can take an appropriate enforcement action," Kozal said.
Kozal said the system also allows the department to get ahead of speeding problems that have not yet gotten complaints.
"We're actually utilizing the system to find where there might be speed issues that haven't even come in as complaints," Kozal said.
The goal, he said, is to use the data to direct officers with precision.
Urban SDK is still in its early stages. With the department currently short-staffed, Kozal said he is hopeful the data will give officers the information they need to reduce speeding across Muskegon.
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