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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? NIJ
Monday, December 11 , 2000?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 202/307-0703
??????????? NIJ TEAM EARNS
HAMMER AWARD FOR CRIME MAPPING EFFORTS
SAN DIEGO, CA ? The Office of the Vice
President today presented a National Institute of Justice (NIJ) team with the prestigious
Hammer Award for its success in enhancing and spreading the use of crime
mapping to identify, prevent and control crime.? Through the Hammer Award, Vice President Gore?s National
Performance Review recognizes teams of federal employees who have made
significant contributions toward reinventing government operations.
The award was presented to the team at NIJ?s
Crime Mapping Research Center?s annual conference, ?Wheredunit: Investigating
the Role of Place in Crime and Criminality.?
The conference is facilitating information sharing among criminal
justice researchers and practitioners who wish to enhance their knowledge of
state-of-the-art crime mapping practices.
?Crime mapping has become an increasingly
important tool in the effort to identify crime problems and develop specific,
targeted strategies to make our streets safer,? said NIJ Acting Director Julie
Samuels.? ?NIJ?s Crime Mapping Research
Center has done a great job bringing mapping technology and analysis to law
enforcement agencies across the nation.?
In 1996, NIJ recognized the largely untapped
potential of computerized crime mapping and the need to expand its use.? This effort led to the creation of the Crime
Mapping Research Center, which promotes research, evaluation, development and
dissemination of electronic
approaches that monitor the location of crime and analyze identified
trends.? For the past four years, the
Center has made significant progress in expanding the use and understanding of
crime mapping.? A 1997 survey showed
that 33 percent of large law enforcement agencies used crime mapping.? By 1999, that figure had nearly doubled to
60 percent.?
Center accomplishments include:
?
The development
of a Web site www.ojp.usdoj.gov/cmrc that
serves as a central point for information about crime mapping that allows
interested criminal justice officials immediate access to information on crime
mapping research, best practices, software tools, and training opportunities.
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The development
of crime mapping software that is provided without charge to law enforcement
and can be downloaded directly from the Center?s Website.
?
The development
and implementation of an electronic, Internet-based listserv that allows
criminal justice officials worldwide to share information about crime
mapping.? This tool also lets the
Center?s 6-person team provide information and products to respond to an
average of 130 queries daily.
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The development
of prediction models that can enhance law enforcement officials? understanding
of crime and their ability to more effectively prevent it.
NIJ is a component of the Office of Justice
Programs and is the Justice Department?s research and evaluation agency.? Additional information about NIJ and OJP is
available at:
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For additional information contact: Doug Johnson 202/616-3559
NIJ-01-027
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