This article announces the opening of the California University of Pennsylvania Crime Mapping Center.
The Crime Mapping Center opened following receipt of a 2004 U.S. Department of Justice grant by California University of Pennsylvania. The Crime Mapping Center has helped local police departments identify trends while helping students interested in law enforcement build their careers. The Center is equipped with Geographic Information System (GIS) technology, which allows students to complete weekly and monthly crime-mapping reports for rural police departments (Uniontown, Brownsville, Johnstown in southwest Pennsylvania). Students analyze crime data and show law enforcement officers the spatial patterns of crimes. The maps help police monitor crime in their jurisdictions. The university is hoping to expand its crime-mapping services to more police departments in the future.