Public safety incident layers can be updated using the Incident Mapping tools provided in the solution. The tools can be executed from ArcMap or ArcCatalog, or Windows Task Scheduler on a defined schedule.

The Incident Mapping tools use tabular data exported from your Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) or Records Management System (RMS) in to an xls or CSV file format for updating the incident layers. A set of sample incident data and a series of feature classes in the Local Government Information Model are provided with the solution to help you generate incident layers for your organization.

To configure incident updates, complete the following steps:

Connect to a locator

Public safety incident features location is defined using address information and a locator, or coordinate values found in your xls or CSV files. The Incident Mapping tools are configured to use the World Geocode Service available with all ArcGIS Online organizational accounts, but can also be configured to use your address locator.

If your incident data already has coordinate values (latitude and longitude), you can create the incident features using the coordinate values. This means you do not need to configure a geocode service or locator.

There are several ways to connect to the World Geocode Service. To establish a service connection with saved credentials (allowing the Incident Mapping tools to run through Task Scheduler), complete the following steps:

1. Create a server connection to the ArcGIS Online World Geocode Service.
2. Check the Save Username/Password check box to save your credentials.

Create an incident configuration file

The Configure Import Incidents tool creates a configuration file that is used when executing the Import and Publishing Incident tool. The configuration file stores unique information that is used to import and publish each incident layer. By default, configuration files are written to the MapsandGeodatabase/Scripts folder, but can then be moved if necessary.

To create an incident configuration file, complete the following steps:

1. In ArcCatalog or the Catalog window of ArcMap, browse to MapsandGeodatabase\IncidentMapping.tbx and open the Configure Import Incidents tool.
2. In the Configuration file name parameter, type the name for your configuration file.
3. In the Incident spreadsheet parameter, browse to the MapsandGeodatabase\SampleData folder and choose the file that matches the incident type published in Publish services. For example, if you published the Arrest service, choose the Arrest file.
4. In the Incident feature class parameter, browse to MapsandGeodatabase\LocalGovernment.gdb\LawEnforcementOperations and choose the feature class that matches the incident file you chose in the previous step. For example, if you chose the Arrest file, choose the Arrest feature class.
5. In the Reports directory parameter, browse to a directory in which you would like to store the incident mapping reports generated by the Import and Publish Incidents tool. Optionally, you can browse to the MapsandGeodatabase/Reports folder.
6. In the Incident identifiers parameter, choose a field containing a unique identifier value. Using the Arrest feature class as an example, choose the ARRESTID field since it contains the unique identifier value for each arrest.
7. In the Location type parameter, choose the method by which geometry (coordinate values) should be assigned to the incidents. ADDRESSES will geocode the features using a locator or geocode service to identify the location of addresses, while COORDINATES will use latitude and longitude values in the data. If both addresses and coordinate values are present in the data, use the more complete or accurate data. Using Arrest as an example, choose ADDRESSES because the address fields are fully populated in the Arrest file, whereas the Latitude and Longitude fields are blank.
8. In the Publish service parameter, choose the method by which you initially published the service in Publish services.
9. Expand the Location Information section and, depending upon the location type you chose, populate either the address or coordinate parameters. Parameters that do not apply to your chosen Location type will be unavailable. Using Arrests as an example, populate the following parameters:
   • Address field parameter with FULLADDR
   • City field with RESCITY
   • State field with RESSTATE
   • ZIP field with RESZIP5
   • Address locator parameter with service connection to the World Geocode service, or other address locator.
10. Expand the Service Information section. The available parameters will depend on the method you chose to use to publish service your service. In the Map document parameter, browse to a map document (for example, MapsandGeodatabase\Arrests.mxd) used to publish the incident data.
11. In the Service name parameter, type the name of the service published in Publish services. If a service with this name does not exist the Import and Publish Incidents tool will fail.
12. Populate the remaining parameters and execute the tool to build a configuration file containing these parameter values.

Import and Publish Incidents

The Import and Publish Incidents tool uses the configuration file created from the Configure Import Incidents script tool. Run the Import and Publish Incidents script tool through ArcCatalog or ArcMap the first time you use this tool to verify it executes successfully.

To import and publish incidents, complete the following steps:

1. In ArcCatalog or the Catalog window in ArcMap, browse to MapsandGeodatabase\IncidentMapping.tbx\Incident Mapping toolset and open the Import and Publish Incidents tool.
2. In the Configuration file parameter, browse to the MapsandGeodatabase\Scripts folder and choose the configuration file create previously.
3. Click OK.
4. Review any warnings or errors in the Geoprocessing Results window and make the necessary changes. This is also a good time to review the incident mapping reports created in the designated reports directory. These reports will help you resolve any errors found in your incident data and configuration file.

Schedule incident updates

The Import and Publish Incidents tool (import_publish_incidents.py) can be used with Windows Task Scheduler to update incident layers on a regular interval. Scheduled updates will ensure users have access to current information to support more dynamic decision-making.

To update incident data on a schedule, complete the following steps:

1. Open Windows Task Scheduler.
2. Select Action > Create Task and name your task.
3. Select the Actions tab and click New.
4. Set Action to Start a Program.
5. Browse to the location of your Python installation (for example, <default directory>\Python27\ArcGIS10.2\python.exe).
6. In the Add Arguments text box, type the name of the script (import_publish_incidents.py) followed by the pathname of the configuration file in double quotes.
7. In the Start in text box, type the pathname of the folder hosting your script and click OK.
8. On the Trigger tab, set a schedule for your task and click OK.