Protection Assistant for Wildlife Security (PAWS): An Innovative Tool for Randomizing Ranger Patrol Schedules in Uganda

• In Event: The Study and Prevention of Wildlife Crime in Uganda

Abstract

In Uganda’s protected areas, ranger foot patrols are the standard approach used for detecting and deterring criminal activity. In general, outposts distributed across an area act as base camps for rangers and patrols typically originate from these locations. Because manpower is limited, and the area a single outpost is responsible for can be quite large, maximizing the efficiency of rangers is an extremely important issue for law enforcement operations. Drawing from previous security research employing game theory to create patrol schedules, the Protection Assistant for Wildlife Security (PAWS) was designed to help wildlife rangers maximize the detection probability and deterrent effect of routine patrols. To do so, spatially referenced information concerning animal density (target density) and crime intensity is fed into the PAWS algorithm to create randomized patrol schedules that make criminal adaptation difficult. This paper discusses the theory guiding PAWS, recent field tests of the software in Uganda, and the potential for the approach to be used more widely for conservation efforts around the world.

Authors

• Benjamin Ford, University of Southern California

• Rong Yang, University of Southern California

• Debarun Kar, University of Southern California

• Francesco Delle Fave, University of Southern California

• Milind Tambe, University of Southern California

• Andrew Lemieux, Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement (NSCR)