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Recommended: Role of crime mapping
Technology Assessment on GIS and Crime Mapping
Introduction
The role of law enforcement agencies is to “serve and protect” society. The advancement in technology has improved their role by providing many opportunities for law enforcement agencies to collect and analyze data at crime scenes and in the crime labs more efficiently and more accurately. Another way technology has entered the law enforcement field is in the form of crime mapping through the use of geographic information science. Utilizing crime mapping allows law enforcement agencies to collect spatial data and display the data on maps to analyze trends in criminal activity in particular areas of a community. A collection of related spatial data can assist law enforcement agents with trying to pinpoint a particular suspect or a group of suspects (such as a serial murderer or a gang) and try to apprehend them. Even if there’s an unrelated collection of spatial data, just knowing that a particular area of a community is a “hot spot” (dense area) of criminal activity can help law enforcement agents research to see what factors are contributing to the high levels of crime in the area. Physical factors such as poor street lighting, vacant warehouses, or poorly secured businesses can make an area vulnerable to crime. The ability to determine these “hot spots” of crime can assist law enforcement agents come up with solutions to change these particular areas back to safe communities (Eck).
Geographic information science is a visualization tool that allows data to be integrated from diverse sources into one georeferenced database that is composed of data from neighboring locations. Spatial analysis applications for GIS has improved the ability for law enforcement ag...
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“Mapping Crime: Understanding Hot Spots.” August 2005. National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. < http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/209393.pdf>
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Jurisdictions: Strategies and Effective Practices.” February 2001. http://www.gcc.state.nc.us/gispage/ep1.htm
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Computer News.
For decades, researchers have tried to determine why crime rates are stronger and why different crimes occur more often in different locations. Certain crimes are more prevalent in urban areas for several reasons (Steven D. Levitt, 1998, 61). Population, ethnicity, and inequality all contribute to the more popular urban. Determining why certain crimes occur more often than others is important in Criminal Justice so researchers can find a trend and the police can find a solution (Rodrigo R. Soares, 2004, 851). The Uniform Crime Reports are a method in which the government collects data, and monitors criminal activity in the United States (Rodrigo R. Soares, 2004, 851). They have both positive and negative attributes that have influenced
Hot spot policing is based on the idea that some criminal activities occur in particular areas of a city. According to researchers crime is not spread around the city instead is concentrated in small places where half of the criminal activities occur (Braga chapter 12). Also, many studies has demonstrated that hot spots do show significant positive results suggesting that when police officers put their attention on small high crime geographic areas they can reduce criminal activities ( Braga, papachristo & hureau I press). According to researchers 50% of calls that 911 center received are usually concentrated in less than 5% of places in a city (Sherman, Gartin, & Buerger, 1989; Weisburd, Bushway, Lum, &Yang, 2004). That is the action of crime is often at the street and not neighborhood level. Thus police can target sizable proportion of citywide crime by focusing in on small number of high crime places (see Weisburd & Telep, 2010). In a meta-analysis of experimental studies, authors found significant benefits of the hot spots approach in treatment compared to control areas. They concluded that fairly strong evidence shows hot spots policing is an effective crime prevention strategy (Braga (007) .Importantly, there was little evidence to suggest that spatial displacement was a major concern in hot spots interventions. Crime did not simply shift from hot spots to nearby areas (see also Weisburd et al., 2006).
Understanding Crime: Theory and Practice. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishers. Woodham, J., & Toye, K. (2007). Empirical Tests of Assumption of Case Linkages & Offender’s profiling with Commercial Robbery.
COMPSTAT is regularly described as a management accountability process that is a multi-layered and dynamic approach to crime reduction, personnel and resource management. The COMPSTAT process of Data-Driven Problem Identification and Assessment , (now referred to as DDPIA), utilizes geographical Information Systems (geo-coding), and advanced software to mine, track and analyze data concerning criminal activity, such as Part I and Part II...
The development of the network analysis assisted CPD in identifying not as much “hot spots” as “hot people” or individuals who were most likely to be involved in violent gun related crimes. That finding was transforming the way the police did business in Chicago and had significant implications for how other cities are able to identify violent crimes and attempt to prevent
Peterson, R, Krivo, L, & Hagan, J. (2006). The many colors of crime. NY: New York University Press.
The Uniform Crime Report also allows us to geographically see crimes spread over the United States. Where certain crimes are committed, who is committing them, and when they are most likely committed. These trends allow for federal and local law enforcement to predict where patrolling may need to be more prevalent or allow criminal profilers to be able to speculate what type of person is a possible suspect for a certa...
Travis, J., & Waul, M. (2002). Reflections on the crime decline: Lessons for the future. Proceedings from the Urban Institute Crime Decline Forum (pp. 1-38). Washington, D. C.: Urban Institute Justice Policy Center.
http://www.ojip.usdoj.gov/nij. [Internet Website]. "Crime and Place: Plenary Papers of the 1997 Conference on Criminal Justice Research and Evaluation."
The New York Police Department has structured some information technology applications to help optimize their firm performance in reducing crime versus patrols in the street. Some of the implications involved in the information systems are input, processing, output and feedback. Computer Statistics (COMPSTAT) uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to help police respond to crimes faster. The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threat analysis (SWOT analysis), are evaluated in the predictive policing. All of these subject matters will be discussed in this paper.
The use of technology in the policing domain has been rapidly adopted over the past few years. However, it should be noted that the process of adopting and effectively using technology in law enforcement, begun more than 50 years ago. For instance, it become apparent in the 1950’s that computer would enable easier storage and retrieval of large amounts of data. More recently, advancement in technology has incorporated more sophisticated ways of transmitting and analyzing information, therefore aiding the law enforcement process (Button, Sharples & Harper, 2007). The police have found various aspect of technology useful; predominantly, computer crime mapping has been widely adopted and consequently received a lot of attention (Goldstein & McEwen, 2009).
Crime Analysis has many benefits to the community. Community engagement, targeted initiatives, strategic use of resources, and data-driven decision-making contribute to decreasing crime. Crime prevention and community satisfaction with police services, while linked to the number of officers on the streets, does not depend entirely on the visibility of patrol officers. Community engagement, targeted initiatives, strategic use of resources, and data-driven decision-making contribute to decreasing crime. So in closing I believe that departments that take the positive elements of foot patrols and combine their efforts with crime analysis that focuses on the time, location, and type of crime, may use the findings to develop strategies to decrease crime and enhance the quality of life in their communities.
Geographers plan new communities, decide where new highways should be placed, and establish evacuation plans. Computerized mapping and data analysis is known as Geographic Information Systems (GIS), a new frontier in geography. Spatial data is gathered on a variety of subjects and input onto a computer. GIS users can create an infinite number of maps by requesting portions of the data to plot.
Kappeler, V.E. & Gaines, L.K. (2009). “Community policing: a contemporary perspective.” Fifth Edition. Newark, NJ: Matthew Bender & Company.