NCJ Number
89123
Date Published
1982
Length
93 pages
Annotation
The geographic data base design proposed will support much of the data processing requirements for police resource allocation programming as the design uses a topologically structured, vector representation of various categories of data associated with patrol resource allocation.
Abstract
The geographic base file provides a common spatial referencing scheme for the various data sets that may serve as source information for the analysis. The locational aspect of the data is explicitly encoded, from which spatial relationships among data elements may be derived and used to accommodate queries and processing based upon geographic parameters. With the automated capability for deriving input requirements for applications programs (e.g., resource allocation models), the need is lessened for storing multiple input files that represent various contingencies. Prior to running the model, control parameters are used to retrieve the prerequisite source data and derive the input requirements in the form of a subschema. The control parameters define the spatial, temporal, and typological ranges for the data to be included in the analysis at hand. The data base design draws from existing technology, primarily the DIME system of the Census Bureau and the GIRAS of the U.S. Geological Survey. The geographic data base design, together with the discussion of access and manipulation algorithms, should provide police departments with valuable insights related to data base management systems for police planning. The appendixes discuss computer use by police departments, spatio-temporal variations in offense levels, the file structure for GIRAS, and overviews of the DIME system, the Patrol Car Allocation Model, and the Hypercube Queuing Model. Twenty-nine references are provided, along with tabular and graphic data.