It’s easy to find your local crime statistics. Just select your region on the map and use the local map to find your station, or use the search box and type in the station name. Choose the type of crime that you want to know more about and filter your search by total number of crimes or crimes per 100,000 passenger journeys. Select whether you want to view crimes recorded at the station or onboard a train. Onboard crime happens along the route of the train but is often reported at end of line stations meaning figures could be higher at those station locations.

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The police department believed that for the tournament to be well received by the community it needed to have a minimum effect on the daily routines of citizens.  Maps were used to inform citizens and alleviate any anxieties they had during the months prior to the tournament.  A Microsoft PowerPoint presentation was developed that featured aerial views of Polk City and included a map that illustrated potential problem areas if no traffic plan was used.  A second map showed the same areas and how traffic-related problems would be minimized with the use of the traffic plan.  The PowerPoint presentation was used numerous times at city meetings and informational meetings, where citizens were allowed to see the traffic plan and gain an understanding of how it was going to work.

Maps were used during the tournament as well. Several officers were brought in to help Polk City police provide security. Officers from other cities were given an aerial view of the golf course and its 6.5 miles of cart path. The maps helped the visiting officers orient themselves to the venue. The Polk City Fire Department also used the maps to assist medical personnel in responding to any calls for assistance. By using GIS, the Polk City police departments were able to see the golf tournament go off without a hitch.

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The crime map does have a few drawbacks like police department business procedures dictating the timely display of recent crime data. Recording requirements may delay the availability of certain incidents on this map. Multiple incidents at a single location may not be apparent. Not all crime/call types are shown

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Laws that restrict where registered sex offenders may live have become increasingly popular during the past decade.  As of 2007, some 27 states and hundreds of municipalities had enacted laws that bar sex offenders from residing near schools, parks, playgrounds and day care centers. The specified distance from a school or other venue is typically 1,000 feet but varies from 500 to 2,500 feet, depending on the jurisdiction.  Studies show that restrictions can create exclusion zones that make it difficult, if not impossible, for sex offenders to find housing.  Sex offenders then may become homeless, go underground or report false addresses, making them difficult to track.

GIS analysis can help officials gauge the impacts of sex offender residency laws.  By analyzing mapping data from GIS, they can isolate the exclusion zones and the areas available for housing in their communities.  They can also determine whether registered sex offenders are living in compliant housing. Researchers mapped data from three areas using GIS to locate registered offenders and identify restricted sites and their exclusion zones.  Various studies were conducted in Ohio, San Diego, California, and several municipalities in New Jersey.  Although the localities differed in geography and population, all evidenced limited access to suitable housing.

GIS mapping can inform legislators about sexual offender residency requirements — especially in jurisdictions that are contemplating enactment of residency laws. Local officials can use the mapping analysis to determine whether affordable housing is available within approved areas and to evaluate the proximity of that housing to treatment facilities.  Such prior analysis can demonstrate whether a proposed law is feasible to enforce.  Jurisdictions with a residency law already in place can use the data to assess whether the exclusion zones result in a lack of housing options for offenders.

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Chicago’s homicide rates led the nation in 2003, so the Chicago police department (CPD) knew they had to find new methods to target crime.  In an effort to help prevent murders and aggravated battery with firearms, the CPDs Deployment Operations Center deployed GIS (geographic information system) technologies to present crime information in geographic context. The point of using GIS technologies is to allow officers to make better-informed decisions about which areas of the city need additional police power.

Immediately, the department began seeing results.  In the second half of 2003—the first six months of GIS deployment—the CPD saw an 18 percent drop in murders compared with the same period the year before. And then in 2004, Chicago had 23 fewer homicides compared with the same period last year.

In addition to helping the CPD target crime more efficiently, GIS is also saving the department time and money.  Before deploying GIS technologies, the CPD used a client/server application developed in-house that enabled police officers to associate crimes with property information. While that application provided officers with information as they investigated crimes, keeping the data up-to-date was tedious because the application had to be loaded onto each computer individually, and new data had to be added every few weeks. With roughly 400 PCs, keeping up with that task was pretty cumbersome.

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The GIS interactive map on the site allows the user to view the murders by borough and year. In addition, each dot on the map is accompanied by a description of the victim and suspect, their relationship to each other, the date and location of the attack, the motive behind the murder, and the method used to carry it out.

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There are approximately 90,000 schools in our nation with a population of 46.5 million students on campus at any one time; this does not include the faculty, administrators, or support staff serving our student population. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can be used as a technology to assist law enforcement and other public safety providers in the response to critical incidents at our schools.  GIS can store vast amounts of spatial information such as the location of any building, office, or space on campus. Every piece of information that our schools store in their databases can be digitized and applied to a GIS system to provide public safety personnel with a visual depiction of what is facing them prior to their arrival at a critical incident.Law enforcement, fire personnel, school personnel,
and other public safety agencies can share this information.
GIS or “smart maps” provide a police department’s dispatchers with a spatial layout of a school, thereby allowing immediate retrieval of information about locations from their consoles. Dispatchers can display where a caller may be hiding from an active shooter on campus which would speed up the tactical response. Columbine is an example of having insufficient information to conduct a tactical response to an active shooter on campus. From the time the shootings began, it took 46 minutes before a tactical unit entered the school and once there, they had difficulty obtaining floor plans which hampered their life saving activities. Columbine has taught us that we must be prepared for the worst. We must train and plan for something that “could never happen in our community.”  Using the powerful mapping capabilities of GIS, officials can better prepare for on campus crisis such as school shootings.

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Check this out!!

 The Crime Mapping Research Conference is not just about presenting where crime is.  The Crime Mapping Research Conference is about understanding crime and public safety and their effect on communities.  The conference presents a range of research findings, practical applications, technology demonstrations and results that can shape future policies.  Presentations and workshops for the 10th conference will highlight geographic principles in research, geographic applications in practice, technology demonstrations and solutions for crime and public safety problems.

The conference will involve various workshops on the use of ArcGIS both basic and advanced. There will also be panels, exhibits and a  map competition with awards for the following categories:

• Best Analytic Map—How well does the map convey results of spatial data analysis, show statistical analysis, or visualize quantitative information? 
• Best Cartographic Design—How well does the map portray and communicate information through its cartographic presentation?  
• Most Innovative Use of Mapping—Is the map a good, original, and innovative idea? 
• Best Overall Map

The conference will be held on Wednesday, August 19, 2009 11:00 AM – Saturday, August 22, 2009 4:00 PM at:

The green dots represent burglaries at the University in 2007.

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