Fundamentals of crime mapping chapter 1 powerpoint

1. Instructor name here

2. General class instructions here


3. ArcGIS

◦ ―GIS Tutorial‖
 ESRI (www.esri.com)
 180 day copy of ArcGIS
 Alternative: ―Getting to Know ArcGIS for Version 9‖
 http://gis.esri.com/esripress/display/index.cfm?fuseactio
n=display&websiteID=144&moduleID=0
◦ Get 60 day Evaluation copy from ESRI Website (order
early)
◦ http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/arcview/eval/ev
aluate.html
◦ Get 1 year Student license from ESRI for $100.00
◦ http://www.esri.com/industries/university/education/
sitelic.html#individual

4. CrimeStat III

◦ http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/CRIMESTAT/
◦ Manual is also very good reference manual for
spatial statistics

5. The more you desire to learn, the more you learn

 Practice, practice, practice
Develop a thick skin

◦ Your first maps are going to be awful, listen to constructive criticism and don‘t take it
too personally
Don‘t give away this new skill

◦ Practice and keep up to date with it
◦ Will reward you in many professions as an additional skill
that is marketable

7. Victims

Suspects

Environment

Time

◦ Who, What, When, Where, Why and How?

8. The study of crime and criminal behavior

◦ No generally accepted single theory that explains
the existence of crime in a society
◦ Consensus perspectives
 Approach crime as a normal and healthy part of any
society
◦ Conflict perspectives
 Argue that crime is the result of group conflict and
unequal distributions of power

9. Macro

◦ Make assumptions about societal-level
variables, including the structure of government
and the economy and how these variables impact
crime rates within a society
Micro

◦ Make assumptions about individual characteristics
(IQ, mental state, temperament, biological
characteristics, and personal finances, for example)
and how they influence a person‘s decision to
commit a crime

10. Environment/Place
Victim
Suspect
Time

11. Economic composition of a community contributes to

crime by affecting neighborhood order
Higher juvenile delinquency rates tended to cluster in

certain neighborhoods within urban areas
Poverty and residential instability,

◦ Impacted both the physical appearance and the social structure of
the neighborhood itself
High population density

High population mobility

Higher numbers of suitable targets

Motivated offenders coexisted with little or no

guardianship
Produces higher rates of crime

Higher rates of crime regardless of who lived there

The area, not the people, is criminogenic


12. Three very basic premises

◦ Environmental Criminology
 Environment can affect crime
 Target rich environments
◦ Routine Activity Theory
 We all have routines, in our down time, we commit crime
 Mental maps and nodes, paths, awareness space
◦ Rational Choice Theory
 Suspects plan to some degree their crimes
 If we understand the reason for the choices, we can understand
and forecast where the offender goes next
Crime Pattern Theory is a combination of all of

these

13. Two Good Web References

◦ http://www.geo.hunter.cuny.edu/capse/projects/nij/crime_
bib1.html
◦ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_mapping

14. Certain locations can be crime attractors (Crime

pattern theory)
◦ Bank ATM
◦ Sports Venues (Coyotes Stadium, etc)
 More potential victims
Security

◦ Design of building or path through makes cover and
concealment available to suspect and disadvantage to
victim
Ease of escape

◦ Ability to commit crime and leave the scene without
detection
◦ Darkness
◦ Closeness of a freeway, etc.

15. Motivated offender

Suitable target

Absence of a capable guardian


16. Mental Maps

◦ If you had to draw your world right now, what would it look
like?
◦ Where do you live, work, play? (nodes)
◦ How do you get back and forth between these places?
(Paths)
◦ The areas between nodes and paths that are known to you
because of your routine activities, are your ―awareness
spaces‖
◦ I drive to work everyday and see construction and
say, ―Wow, it sure is growing out this way‖
 The person with a criminal intent says, ―Wow, look at all the
construction equipment that isn‘t locked up around here!‖
◦ Can be a great interview technique, because all maps are
―true!‖

17. Routine Activities Theory Analysis Triangle
Family, Home Owners,
Probation Officer Teachers
Police,
Private Security

18. Nodes

Paths

Awareness Space

Escape Routes

Geography of

Victimology
• What does this offender‘s
nodes maybe tell you
about him/her?

22. Theory should power all mapping and analysis

projects
◦ Think about
 Suspect‘s search patterns
 Least effort
 Mixed scanning
 Find an area then find a target
 Bank ATM, Sports Arena, Big Event, Mall
 Awareness spaces
 Knowledge
 Comfort
Routines and rhythms
 Obligatory time (work etc.)
 Discretionary time (Crimes occur now)

23. Commuter
Focus on Crime Or Hunter
Marauder or
Theory: Poacher
.
.
.
Marauder Vs. . .
.
.
.
Commuter ..
.
. .
.
. .
.
.
. .
.
.
.

24. We are all human beings and each of us

uses some thought process to make
decisions
Criminals and ―normal‖ people are

fundamentally the same
We make decisions on where to commit our

crime through:
What is the benefit I receive?
◦
Is it relatively safe?
◦
Can I escape easily?
◦
Number of potential witnesses to my crime?
◦
 Identification of myself by police and others

25. Hypothesis
testing
should be an
everyday
part of crime
analysis

26. Crime analysis

◦ Focus on events
 Administrative
 Operational or Police Operations Analysis
 Strategic
 Tactical
Criminal intelligence analysis

◦ Focus on people
◦ Organized criminal activity and seeks to link
people, events, and property
Investigative analysis

◦ Focus on investigation of specific crimes
◦ Victim characteristics and elements of crime scenes are
studied to discover patterns that link related crimes
together
◦ Investigative support

27. ―is the systematic study of crime and disorder

problems as well as other police-related issues—
including sociodemographic, spatial, and
temporal factors—to assist the police in criminal
apprehension, crime and disorder
reduction, crime prevention, and evaluation‖
(Boba, 2005, p. 6)
―focused on the study of criminal incidents; the

identification of patterns, trends, and problems;
and the dissemination of information that helps a
police agency develop tactics and strategies to
solve patterns, trends, and problems‖
(Bruce, 2004, p. 15)

28. Provide information that is fast, reliable

and accurate (data quality)
Improve administrative reports where

needed
Improve strategic analysis efforts for

better decision making
Begin proactive analysis of several crime

types that can be impacted by crime
analysis efforts

29. Involves the presentation of key findings of

crime research and analysis to audiences
within law enforcement, local
government, and citizenry based on
legal, political, and practical concerns
including:
◦ A report on demographic changes in the
jurisdiction
◦ Miscellaneous crime statistics to support grant
applications
◦ Preparation of Uniform Crime Report (UCR) or
Incident-Based Reporting System
◦ Hotspot, pin, or reference maps for the jurisdiction

30. Assist in general reporting

Improve UCR coding processes by

reviewing coded reports for accuracy
Suggest improvements to the

management system when needed
Produce reports and data in a timely

manner
Provide general hot spot and crime

distribution maps and reports on an ad-
hoc basis
Do staffing studies


31. Administrative (bean counting)

Reference maps
◦
Hot spot or hot area maps
◦
Graduated symbol maps
◦
Pin maps
◦
Larger geography area

Longer time periods

Less specific focus

Multi-layer geoprocessing (thematic

mapping)
Using several layers of data to make one final map
◦
Redistricting is an example
◦

33. Involves the study of crime and other law

enforcement issues to identify long-standing
patterns of crime and other problems and to
assess police responses to these problems
(Boba, 2005)
Typically, this analysis involves collecting a great

deal of information about criminal events. In
addition, ―helping agencies to identify root
causes of crime problems and develop creative
problem-solving strategies to reduce crime‖ is a
key goal in strategic crime analysis (IACA)

34. Create hot spot maps by various geographic

areas and boundaries
◦ Do time comparison studies
Create reports that are easily read and explain

general date, time, and day of week
distributions of crime in specific geographic
areas identified in the administrative process
Find ―thresholds‖ of activity in specific

geographic areas to provide weekly or monthly
strategic battle plans to all units of the
department
Create new reports and processes needed to

support this function throughout the
department
Database support


35. Strategic

Hotspot maps
◦
Graduated symbol maps
◦
Pin maps (limited)
◦
Multi-layer, thematic, geoprocessing
◦
Recurring or significant problem you are trying to

find or isolate
Smaller geographic area

Shorter time period

More specific focus

Problem-solving or intelligence-led policing

workhorse

37. Examines recent criminal events and potential

criminal activity by analyzing how, when, and
where the events occur to establish patterns
and series, identify leads or suspects, and to
clear cases (Boba, 2005)

38. Find trends, clusters, patterns, sprees and

series of criminal activity through
proactive review of reports.
◦ Identify the next day of week, time of day, and likely
date of a new crime by the same offender (s)
(Statistical Analysis)
◦ Provide additional investigative data from police files
and resources on similar crimes or M.O. (Database
Searches)
◦ Identify the likely location of a new crime in a series
or trend (like, ellipses, rectangles, probability grid
analysis)
◦ Identify the likely home address location or anchor
point for an offender and provide person information
to investigative units for consideration (journey to
crime)
◦ Repeat as needed

39. Tactical

Hot spot maps
◦
Graduated point maps
◦
Pin Maps
◦
Thematic mapping
◦
Waiting for the next incident to happen

Predictions for new hit

Journey to crime analysis

Very specific focus
◦
Short time spans analyzed
◦
Very limited to some range of geography
◦

41. More data is available to you

◦ Become ―intimate‖ with the data
Data problems can be identified and corrected

Excellent tool for goal planning and

completion and applying the SARA model to
problems:
◦ Collect, collate, analyze, disseminate, and
EVALUATE vs. S.A.R.A.

42. Geographic Information Systems have developed

over the past 30 years
First crime map in early 1900‘s in New York
◦
First computerized crime map in 1960‘s
◦
Canada led the way

More common use in late 1980‘s, early 90‘s
◦
GIS use has increased dramatically in the past 5-

10 years, however may still be underused in some
police departments
2002 ACJC study, only 15% of AZ agencies using

it
ACJC Crime Mapping in Arizona 2002.pdf

43. The ―SYSTEM‖ part of GIS could be used to

describe all of the diverse assortment of data that
a normal police department collects during day to
day operations
Geographic data (incident locations, home addresses, etc)
◦
Data that can be tied to the geographic data (person‘s
◦
DOB, Vehicle make, property, M.O., etc.)
A GIS can assist police with

optimizing limited resources
◦
directing enforcement activities to needed areas
◦
streamlining and improving business processes
◦
identifying critical information problems within datasets
◦
collected and maintained.
Quality control
◦
With this increase in the amount of data

available to decision makers, we have to be able
to make sense of all of this data.

44. In the business community this is often

described as ―business intelligence‖ or the
process of taking the bits and pieces of
data we collect everyday,
Ordering it and organizing it so that it

makes sense and provides
information, to assist other
analysts, administrators, detectives, and
patrol officers
To develop knowledge to prevent

crimes, catch criminals, or enhance public
safety.

45.  My audience determines what type of
map I produce and that you will have many
different people and purposes within the
audiences you will address as a crime analyst

46. Has increased (or can increase) efficiency in the

data collection processes
Easy to do, so more data is used
◦
When you are mapping data, you often find the ―big‖
◦
accuracy or reliability problems with your data collection
systems and can make recommendations to improve
them
Quality assurance measures can be identified
◦
Promotes by it‘s sheer nature – DATA SHARING

GIS the common language
◦

47. Saves time for your agency when used

correctly
Saves money by understanding the

processes or the work flow of the data you
will use

48. You will learn more information about crime

in your jurisdiction faster and become the
resident ―expert‖ in data, software, and often
hardware

49. You will develop new partnerships with people

Your own city (IT
◦
staff, Engineering, Utilities, Planning, etc.)
In our county (IT Staff, GIS
◦
section, Elections, Association of Governments, etc.)
Between other law enforcement agencies
◦
Data sharing projects and cooperative grant processes

In your state and with the federal government
◦
Homeland security

Grants

Geospatial One-stop web sites


50. With GIS, we deal with several different types of

data. In the ArcMap application we deal mostly
with 4 basic data formats:
◦ Vector
 Points
 Lines (sometimes called Arcs)
 Polygons
◦ Raster
 Image

51. Points
◦ incidents or events
 Radio calls
 Crimes
◦ physical features
 Police stations
 Schools
 Evidence found

52. Lines (sometimes called Arcs)
Streets
◦
Knows start and end
◦
Can be used for routing
◦
Distances between things (length)
◦
Knows what‘s on the right or left
◦
Boundary lines
◦

53. Polygons

Are bounded by limits of box
◦
Knows what is within and what borders itself
◦
Aggregation container
◦
Knows it‘s AREA
◦

54. Raster vs. Vector data

◦ Points, lines and polygons are Vector data with
aggregation or not
 Discrete data (a line stitched on to a blanket)
◦ Raster data is like a weather map
 Satellite photos, radar, aerial images
 Continuous data (the entire blanket)

58. ―A computerized mapping system that allows a

police department to analyze geographic and
related data collected during the course of police
activities, to provide insight into better crime
fighting strategies, community based policing
program evaluation, administrative, strategic, and
tactical planning and intervention
activities, predicting suspect behavior and patterns
in active investigations, and to utilize the data
more effectively through graphic display of data in
a easy to understand ―map‖ format, as well as
develop strategies to guarantee accurate data
collection to achieve sound analysis products for
decision making processes, across all units within a
police department.‖

59. IACA Vendor List

◦ http://www.iaca.net/Software.asp
Crime Mapping (NIJ Maps)

◦ http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/maps/software.html
IACA (International Association of Crime Analysts)

◦ www.IACA.net
AACA (Arizona Association of Crime Analysts)

◦ http://www.aacaonline.org/
And many many more listed in the textbook


61. The method used to transfer locations on the

Earth‘s surface to a flat map is called
projection.

62. There are hundreds of mathematical calculations

to make the data at some point on the earth‘s
surface the ―most‖ accurate.
The earth is not perfectly round (spheroid)

◦ Hills and valleys, etc
All map projections distort the surface in some

fashion
Area
◦
Shape
◦
Direction
◦
Bearing
◦
Distance
◦
Scale
◦

63. Common Projection for USA is Universal

Transverse Mercator
◦ Latitude and Longitude lines
◦ State plane coordinate system derived from this
projection for better accuracy
 Nad 1983, Fips 0202
 Az Central – Maricopa and other counties
 Most states have 3 zones (FIPS zones)
 International feet
 Measurement units

64. Important to know projection to share data

Important to measure correctly

ArcGIS Shapefile creates a .PRJ file which

stores the projection information so it can be
used with other data
I sharing data:

◦ Provide complete projection
 State Plane Coordinate System, Nad 1983, Fips
0202, Az Central, Intl Feet (or meters, feet, etc)

65. ArcGIS –ArcView ArcMap Level
Menu Bar or Menu Items
Map Display
Map Workspace
Start-up
Dialog
Table of Contents
ToolBox
Toolbars and Menus

66. GIS Software with 3 levels

◦ ArcInfo
◦ Arc Editor
◦ ArcMap (what we have)
Made by ESRI

◦ www.esri.com
Initial steep learning curve

Can do just about anything and only limited

by your imagination

67. Menu Bar
(Activate by
clicking and
choosing item)
Table of Contents
Map Display
TOC Tabs (Display, Data
Source, and Selected records
views)

68. Checked, or
Turned On or
Visible in Map
Display
Highlighted or
―Selected‖
Map Display
Display tab – shows you what
Table of Contents
layers are available in the data
frame and can be viewed on the
map display area

69. File Directory
Path
Map Display
Table of Contents
Source – gives you the file
location for the data in the
project

70. Selectable and
records selected
Not Selectable
Map Display
Selection – let‘s you choose which
Table of Contents themes can have records
selected, and which themes have
records selected in them -bolded
and number of records in ―()‖

71. Data Layout
Standard
Frame toolbar
toolbar
Themes
or layers
Map Display
View
Table of Contents
Tools

72. Right Click on Data
frame to get data frame
properties menu
Map Display
Table of Contents

73. Right click on theme
name to get Layer
Properties menu
Map Display
Table of Contents

74. Symbology Tab
Allows us to make
changes to how the
data is displayed and
classified
Map Display

75. Definition query tab
allows us to choose
what data we see

76. Label tab let‘s us label
just about anything on
the map automatically
and we have more
choices and options
than we can shake a
stick at

77. Standard tools active –
Layout tools not active
Map display View
Layout tools active –
Standard tools also active
layout View
You need to make sure you
keep the layout tools and the
standard tools separate in
your mind as they work on the
data differently

78. Add Data
Arc
Toolbox
Table of Contents
Map Display

79. Allows us to add data from a variety of sources:
•GIS Layers
•Tables
•Images
•ODBC and OLE DB Connections to databases

80. Table of Contents
Map Display
Arc Toolbox

81. Arc
Catalog
Button
Table of Contents Map Display

82. New program opens – File
Information, data Structure
and metadata
Library of sorts
You can manage your
data, search and find
data, view data, and
add metadata (data
about data) in Arc
Catalog. You can also
create new data and
drag and drop data into
ArcGIS from Arc Catalog

83. Be sure to use complete SQL structure:

◦ [FieldName] = ‗Something‘
◦ Field, operator, and Value

84. Useful for

finding
data that
meet your
geographic
boundaries
or contain
some
element
you need

85. Use the exercises in class and

practice, practice, practice!

86. You WILL find the light at the end of the

tunnel

87. Crime Types

Trend – A crime trend is the occurrence of similar offenses

in a geographic area that have increased or decreased
within a given time period and this can be measured.
Pattern – A crime pattern is the occurrence of similar

offenses in a geographic area that may or may not be
committed by the same suspect or suspects.
Cluster – A crime cluster is the occurrence of similar

offenses within close proximity to each other potentially
leading to identification of a crime series or not.
Series – A crime series is the occurrence of offenses

showing evidence that the same suspect or suspects has
committed the crimes. This is verified through similar MO’s
or suspect descriptions.
Spree – A crime spree is a set of crimes committed

sequentially by the same suspect or suspects over a short
period time.

88. General Terms

Hot Spot – An area that has been identified to have more

crime than another area or has a higher “density” of
crimes.
Density – Density is a term applied to geographic elements

and their relationship to each other. A location or group of
crimes is considered more dense as their numbers
increase and the proximity to another location or crime is
reduced.
Threshold Analysis – A product used as an early warning

system for crimes in a specific geographic area to
determine if the total numbers are higher or lower than
the a previous, equal, time period.
Spatial Analysis (Geoprocessing) – The science of using

geographic elements and their relationship to other
geographic elements to analyze crime and crime
associations.
GIS – Geographic Information Systems. Also known as

computer mapping.

89. General Terms

Frequency Distribution – A listing of numbers or scores in

ascending or descending order.
Mean – The mathematical average of a set of numbers.

Median – The middle score in a distribution.

Mode – The most frequent score in a distribution.

Standard Deviation – This is the average of the differences

between scores in a frequency distribution yielding to a normal
distribution (bell-shaped curve).
Central Tendency – A term used to describe the proximity of a

score in a distribution to the mean of the same distribution.