Increased Police Presence Expected in Ulster County

Ulster County residents are being warned that they will likely see an increase in police presence starting on Dec. 1.

City of Kingston police announced they have been directed to conduct additional patrols in a “DDACTS zone”. “DDACTS” stands for Data-Driven Approach to Crime and Traffic Safety.

The nationally recognized method uses crash and crime data to establish the best methods of deploying law enforcement resources. The increased police presence will be based on the system's crime and crash data analysis.

“The goals of the Kingston Police Department’s DDACTS initiative are to improve traffic safety, reduce crime and other social harms using available resources at no additional cost to the taxpayers,” the police department posted on Facebook. “Using data from the past three years, the Kingston Police Department has identified an area to be designated as a DDACTS zone (shown in the map). This small area accounts for over 8% of all crashes in the City of Kingston, including two of the top ten crash locations within the city.”

The area also accounts for 11% of level 1 crimes -- homicide, aggravated assault, rape, robbery, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft and arson -- in the City of Kingston.

“As you can see – a lot happens in this small area of the City of Kingston,” the police department said. “Using the DDACTS model we hope to reduce crime and other social harms as well as improve traffic safety in the DDACTS zone and the City of Kingston in general.”