GEOGRAPHICALLY BASED INTERACTIVE CRIME ANALYSIS (FROM MAPPING AND RELATED APPLICATIONS OF COMPUTERS TO CANADIAN POLICE WORK, 1977, BY J E WATKIN AND F R LIPSETT - SEE NCJ-47416)

• NCJ Number: 47424
• Author(s): J G ARNOLD; F R LIPSETT
• Date Published: 1977
• Length: 13 pages
• Corporate Author: National Research Council
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Language: English
• Country: Canada

Annotation

A SOFTWARE PACKAGE UNDER DEVELOPMENT IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE OTTAWA, CANADA, POLICE FORCE FOR THE PURPOSE OF GEOGRAPHICALLY BASED CRIME ANALYSIS IS DESCRIBED.

Abstract

THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS PACKAGE ARE TO: (1) CREATE GRAPHIC DISPLAYS USING AUTOMATED TECHNIQUES; (2) FACILITATE THE ANALYSIS OF CALLS FOR SERVICE; (3) SUMMARIZE AND SIMPLIFY THE DATA AND ITS PRESENTATION; AND (4) PRODUCE A STATISTICAL SUMMARY OF THE DATA. TWO CRITERIA MUST BE MET IF AN URBAN POLICE DEPARTMENT IS TO USE THE CONCEPT. FIRST, A GEOGRAPHICAL SYSTEM THAT CAN CLASSIFY DATA IS NEEDED. SECOND, A COMPUTER SYSTEM IS NEEDED TO PROVIDE THE DATA AND RUN THE PACKAGE. THE PACKAGE IS WRITTEN IN FORTRAN IV PLUS. THE FIRST SECTION CREATES THE MAPS USED IN THE ANALYSIS. A DATA SET OF UNIQUELY NUMBERED POINTS IS DIGITIZED FROM A MAP; THESE POINTS ARE THEN IMPUTED TO THE PROGRAM, AND THE ANALYST STARTS MAKING THE MAP UPON WHICH THE ANALYSIS WILL BE BASED. THE SECOND SECTION UNDERTAKES THE INTERACTIVE ANALYSIS. THE INTERACTION IS ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH THE USE OF A LIGHT PEN AND AN ALPHANUMERIC KEYBOARD. THE INTERACTIVE SECTION TAKES THE MAP CREATED IN THE FIRST SECTION AND ALLOWS THE USER TO: (1) ONLINE EDIT THE MAP, ADDING AND CHANGING VARIOUS FEATURES AT WILL; (2) SHADE IS USER DEFINED POLYGONS; (3) ADD OR DELETE TEXT; (4) DRAW THE MAP AT VARIOUS SCALES; (5) DISPLAY INFORMATION IN THE FORM OF PILLARS AT THE CENTROIDS OF THE ATOMS; AND (6) PRODUCE A STATISTICAL SUMMARY OF THE CALLS FOR SERVICE DATA. MAPS, GRAPHS, AND ILLUSTRATIONS ARE PROVIDED. REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (KBL)