Crime mapping is a key component of crime analysis and the CompStat policing strategy. Mapping crime, using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), allows crime analysts to identify crime hot spots, along with other trends and patterns. GIS also allows analysts to overlay other datasets such as census demographics, locations of pawn shops, schools, etc., to better understand the underlying causes of crime and help law enforcement administrators to devise strategies to deal with the problem. GIS is also useful for law enforcement operations, such as allocating police officers and dispatching to emergencies. CompStat (short for COMPuter STATistics or COMParitive STATistics) is the name given to the New York City Police Departments management accountability process. ... A geographic information system (GIS) is a system for managing data that has a spatial specialized form of an information system. ... A census is the process of obtaining information about every member of a population (not necessarily a human population). ... Demographics is a shorthand term for population characteristics. Demographics include age, income, mobility (in terms of travel time to work or number of vehicles available), educational attainment, home ownership, employment status, and even location. ... Modern pawnbroker storefront A pawnbroker is a person who offers loans to individuals who use their personal property as collateral. ... A car of the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary, England Police forces are government organisations charged with the responsibility of maintaining law and order. ... Most emergency vehicles in the US and Canada display Emergency 911 9-1-1 (nine-one-one or nine-eleven) is the emergency telephone number for the North American Numbering Plan (NANP). ...

Underlying theories that help explain spatial behavior of criminals include Environmental Criminology, which was devised in the 1980s by Patricia and Pat Brantingham, Routine Activity Theory, developed by Lawrence Cohen and Marcus Felson and originally published in 1979, and Rational Choice Theory, developed by Ronald V. Clarke and Derek Cornish, originally published in 1986. In recent years, crime mapping and analysis has incorporated spatial data analysis techniques, such as spatial regression (developed by Luc Anselin) that can help one analyze crime data and better understand why and not just where crime is occurring. // Events and trends The 1980s marked an abrupt shift towards more conservative lifestyles after the momentous cultural revolutions which took place in the 60s and 70s and the definition of the AIDS virus in 1981. ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... 1986 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Crime analysts use that understanding to help law enforcement management (e.g. the police chief) to make better decisions, target resources, and formulate strategies, as well as for tactical analysis (e.g. crime forecasting, geographic profiling). New York City does this through the CompStat approach, though that way of thinking deals more with the short term. There are other, related approaches with terms including Information-led policing, Intelligence-led policing, Problem-oriented policing, and Community policing. In some law enforcement agencies, crime analysts work in civilian positions, while in other agencies, crime analysts are sworn officers Geographic profiling is a criminal investigative methodology that analyzes the locations of a connected series of crimes to determine the most probable area of offender residence. ... Midtown Manhattan, looking north from the Empire State Building, 2005 New York City (officially named the City of New York) is the most populous city in the United States, the most densely populated major city in North America, and is at the center of international finance, politics, entertainment, and culture. ... CompStat (short for COMPuter STATistics or COMParitive STATistics) is the name given to the New York City Police Departments management accountability process. ... Problem-oriented policing is a type of community policing that focuses on decentralization of decision-making powers. ... Community policing is a political philosophy in which the police and police department are seen as members of the community, with police officers being part of where they live and work. ...

From a research and policy perspective, crime mapping is used to understand patterns of incarceration and recidivism, help target resources and programs, evaluate crime prevention or crime reduction programs (e.g. Project Safe Neighborhoods, Weed & Seed), and further understanding of causes of crime. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Prison cell A prison is a place in which people are confined and deprived of a range of liberties. ... Recidivism is the act of a person repeating an undesirable behavior after they have either experienced negative consequences of that behavior, or have been treated or trained to extinguish that behavior. ... Crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) is a multi-disciplinary approach to deterring criminal behavior. ...

References

• Brantingham, Paul J., Patricia L. Brantingham (eds) (1981). Environmental Criminology. Waveland Press. ISBN 0881335398.
• Chainey, Spencer, Jerry Ratcliffe (2005). GIS and Crime Mapping. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0470860995.
• Cohen, Lawrence E., Marcus Felson (1979). "Social change and crime rate trends: A routine activity approach". American Sociological Review 44: 588–607.
• Cornish, Derek, Ronald V. Clarke (1986). The Reasoning Criminal. Springer-Verlag. ISBN 3540962727.

External links

• Crime Mapping & Analysis Program - National Law Enforcement Corrections Technology Center (NLECTC)
• International Association of Crime Analysts
• Mapping & Analysis for Public Safety (MAPS) - National Institute of Justice (NIJ)
• GIS User - Spatial Media LLC., Frederick, MD
• San Francisco Police - public mapping site
• Chicago Police - unofficial site using Google maps
• Chicago Police - Citizen ICAM official site displaying crime maps