NCJ Number
85044
Date Published
1980
Length
155 pages
Annotation
This dissertation outlines a conceptual schema of a crime geographic information system (CRGIS) to facilitate technology transfer in this area and provide a heretofore lacking overall system design.
Abstract
The schema is related to police information systems and the criminal justice system and geared to the manipulation, analysis, display, and use of geographically referenced crime data. To implement the schema, police at all levels in the hierarchy must be involved in the design process, which must feature user involvement and evaluative procedures. A knowledge of the available computer software with spatial display and analysis capabilities of geographically referenced crime data for police operations use is also necessary. Police decisionmakers should use the resource/constraint/objective matrix to decide among the available software options to best meet the needs of their particular department. The CRGIS model is presented in terms of historical developments in both police information systems and geographic data analysis, with emphasis on strides made in the 1960's and 1970's toward the present concept of the geocode. Following a presentation of the structure of the CRGIS, including its design and evaluation models, a survey of the state of CRGIS in the United States and Canada is analyzed. Specific reference is made to CRGIS system implementation efforts in Jacksonville, Fla., St. Louis, Mo., and Huntington Beach, Calif. Over 200 references and tables and charts are given.