Mapping and Analysis for Public Safety
Geography & Public Safety Bulletin
The MAPS program at NIJ, together with the COPS office, is now publishing a quarterly bulletin on geography and public safety. Topics covered in the Bulletin include mapping, problem analysis, and other issues pertaining to the geography of crime. The Bulletin is geared towards practitioners in law enforcement and criminal justice agencies. Articles in the Bulletin are intended to inform the reader of topics current with regard to spatial analysis of crime, but also to push the reader to new levels.
Volume I, Issue I
The first issue of the Geography & Public Safety Bulletin is focused on the topic of hot spot analysis. There is also a technical section, about using ESRI's ModelBuilder, an article about how a university is helping smaller, rural police departments with crime mapping, an "In the News" section, and a list of events.
The bulletin will be published on a quarterly basis, and be available in print and electronic formats. Subscriptions to the Bulletin can be made through NCJRS:
https://puborder.ncjrs.gov/Listservs/nij/MAPSBulletin.asp
If you request a print copy it will be automatically mailed to you. If an electronic copy is requested a notification that the new issue is ready for download at the MAPS website or from COPS.
Tenth Crime Mapping Research Conference
- Solving Problems with Geography and Technology
Rescheduled for August 2009 (conference is NOT CANCELED), details to follow soon
Sheraton Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana
Call for presentations and workshops
Solutions to crime and public safety problems are necessarily about where. Those solutions are a combination of research, practice, technology and policy that provide the full perspective of breadth and depth of a problem and the results of its solution. The application of geographic principles to these problems has come into the mainstream as the reemergence of geography has become a primary component in solving problems.
Advancements in geographic-based technologies have brought a better understanding of crime, the more efficient deployment of public safety resources and a more critical examination of criminal justice policies. This is due to the reciprocation that occurs between research and practice, often resulting in better technology. Research provides a foundation of theories. Practice operationalizes the theories through technology. Policy decisions are then enacted with a more precise focus based on research and practical demonstration. Geography has been the constant in the expansion of each of these areas and technology has been the facilitator.
The Crime Mapping Research Conference is not just about presenting where crime is. The conference is about understanding crime and public safety and their effect on community. It represents a range of research findings, practical applications, technology demonstrations and policy results.
Presentations and workshops for the 10th conference will highlight the principles of geography in research findings, applications in practice, technology demonstration and policy results in solving crime and public safety problems.
Call for presentations and workshops were due February 18, 2008. Thank you to all that submitted. We will inform you in April, as to whether or not your presentation or workshop has been accepted.
9th Crime Mapping Research Conference
March 28 - March 31, 2007
About the conference
The Ninth Crime Mapping Research Conference focused on the use and development of methodologies for practitioners and researchers. Keynote speaker, Andrew Reamer of the Brookings Institute, discussed the use of Census data and other data sources for crime analysis and research. The Friday luncheon keynote speaker, George Rengert, looked back at the history of crime mapping. The conference also featured a plenary panel on "Optimizing the Data Generated by GPS tracking of Offenders", as well as numerous workshop and panel sessions.
Proceedings
Conference presentations and proceedings now available.
- Innovations in Contextual Data for Crime Mapping - Opening keynote by Dr. Andrew Reamer
- Presentations
FacilityCop
FacilityCop is a version of SchoolCop, modified and adapted by Temple University, for use in the corrections environment. The program can be used to map, analyze, and keep records of incidents within a building environment, such as a prison. The program can also be used to generate tabular reports, graphs, and charts. FacilityCop is available as a free download. (Posted: 6/28/06)
- Download software - from Temple University
Publication: Mapping Crime: Understanding Hot Spots
Much of crime mapping is devoted to detecting high-crime density areas known as hot spots. Hot spot analysis helps police identify high-crime areas, types of crime being committed, and the best way to respond. This Special Report discusses hot spot analysis techniques and software and identifies when to use them. Mapping Crime: Understanding Hot Spots presents various hot spot mapping and analysis techniques, software options and capabilities, and a theoretical discussion to frame hot spots within policing strategies and response. (Posted: 9/15/05)
CrimeStat III
CrimeStat III, the latest version of this spatial statistics program for the analysis of crime incident locations, is now available. New in version 3.0 is a module for crime travel demand modeling, widely used in transportation planning. It allows a crime analyst to model crime trips over a metropolitan area and to make reasonable guesses at the travel mode and likely routes taken. It can also be used to model possible interventions. (Posted: 5/2/05)
- The software is available for free download from the NACJD (National Archive of Criminal Justice Data).