Reports Public Space ( Signals)

Municipality of Almelo

If something needs to be repaired or cleaned up in public spaces, this can be reported to the municipality via Signalen, the online reporting system. A dangerous traffic situation or nuisance situation can also be reported.

Last change on 12th of August 2025, at 14:48 (CET) | Publication Standard 1.0

• Publication category: Other algorithms
• Impact assessment: Field not filled in.
• Status: In use

General information

Theme

• Space and Infrastructure
• Public Order and Safety

Begin date

03-2025

Contact information

[e-mail]

Responsible use

Goal and impact

If something needs to be repaired or cleaned up in public spaces, this can be reported to the municipality via Signalen, the online reporting system. A dangerous traffic situation or nuisance situation can also be reported. The algorithm processes texts from the report and places the medling in the right category (for handling by the right municipality team).

Considerations

Because the algorithm automatically recognises and processes texts, notifications can be made and followed up quickly and efficiently. Previously, reporters themselves had to choose which category their report best fitted into, so that the report went to the right municipality department. But because of the many different categories, people did not always choose the right one. This sometimes caused delays in processing reports. This is avoided by using the algorithm to correctly categorise a notification.

Human intervention

If it is not clear which category a notification falls into (if it can be determined with less than 40% certainty what it is about), the notification is forwarded to the municipality's Customer Contact Centre (CCC). There, an employee of the municipality assesses the notice. The notification is then placed in the correct category. If a notification ends up in the wrong category after all, a staff member from the KCC places it in the correct category.

Risk management

There are few risks associated with this algorithm. It places a notification in the right category and ensures that a notification is quickly brought to the attention of the right team at Almelo municipality.

1. If the algorithm cannot place a notification in a category with sufficient certainty, it ends up in the 'other' category. Employees at the Customer Contact Centre (CCC) then manually place the notification in the correct category.
2. If the algorithm does not work properly, it may take slightly longer for the report to reach the right team, as an employee then has to ensure the correct classification.
3. If a reporter wants to be kept informed, he or she can add personal data (phone number/email address). This data is stored securely and not used by the algorithm.

Operations

Data

Texts (words) from a report are used to operate the algorithm. While making a report, a reporter can choose (on a separate page) to leave a phone number or e-mail address. This personal data is only used for providing feedback to the reporter. The data are not kept longer than necessary for this purpose, nor are they used by the algorithm.

Technical design

The text of the notification is broken down into individual words. Each word from a notification is analysed to see how unique it is to that notification, compared to the total collection of words. A word like 'thank you' gets a lower weight and a word like 'rubbish' gets a high weight. From that combination of words, machine learning (logical regression) then determines which category the notification belongs to and which team within the municipality of Almelo, the notification is most likely to fit. Hosting and technical management of the algorithm are provided by the supplier.