Champaign City Council will convene Tuesday night for a study session to discuss new policing strategies, including new intelligence software.

The district and investigative unit commanders will be at the meeting to discuss their respective districts and responsibilities.

The Champaign County Police Department wants to use intelligence led policing, crime analysis software that would use local data to improve the efficiency of police forces.

The software is intended to collect data that would ensure quicker and more appropriate deployment of police staff.

“It’s information that we’re already collecting through various other sources, but now we’re combining it in a useable format so that we can use it more efficiently,” said Chief of Police RT Finney.

The new technology will allow the police department to look at a map of the city and see what crimes have occurred at a specific location, Finney said.

The police department received a grant that would fund the crime analyst software as well as a new intelligence analyst position.

Council member Michael LaDue district-2, said the motivation for getting the technology is less money and fewer resources.

“It’s a great use of resources in general,” said Marci Dodds, council member district-4.

Dodds said that with budget constraints, the city can’t afford to hire more police officers. She said the technology is a smart response to these financial constraints.

The technology will also allow police officers to analyze crime trends and look for crime hotspots, said Finney.

The police department is currently working with the software developers to incorporate already existing systems like GIS and dispatch with the new software.

Finney said the system should be up and running within sixty to ninety days.

City council will meet at 7 pm at 102 N. Neil St.