Crime Mapping in Police Departments: The Challenges of Building a Mapping System (From Crime Mapping and Crime Prevention, P 131-155, 1997, David Weisburd and Tom McEwen, eds. - See NCJ-170277)

• NCJ Number: 170282
• Author(s): L G Mazerolle; C Bellucci; F Gajewski
• Date Published: 1997
• Length: 25 pages
• Grant Number(s): 90-IJ-CX-K004; 91-MU-CX-K005
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Justice (NIJ)
• Sale Source: Criminal Justice Press/Willow Tree Press
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS.

Annotation

This chapter identifies the challenges facing police departments that seek to implement computerized crime mapping systems.

Abstract

The chapter highlights the importance of police departments identifying primary "end-users" and then designing systems that accomplish the tasks specific to the needs of their end-users. The chapter also discusses data transfer, geocoding, data integration, system customization, and confidentiality issues. The paper illustrates the practicalities of implementing geographic mapping systems drawing from experiences with the Drug Market Analysis Program. It profiles the Jersey City, NJ, crime mapping system to highlight some of the difficulties encountered in implementing a computerized crime mapping for street-level use. The paper concludes that police departments planning to implement computer crime mapping capabilities need to think carefully about the "who, what, where, when and how" connected with use of the system and then design the system data sources and interfaces accordingly. Table, notes, references, appendix