Geographic information systems and forensics
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have significantly impacted the fields of cartography and forensics by transforming how spatial data is stored, analyzed, and visualized. Initially adopted by law enforcement in the 1960s, GIS technology was primarily used for crime-mapping to enhance patrol efficiency. Over the decades, advancements in software and hardware have made GIS more accessible, although its adoption among police departments has been uneven, particularly favoring larger agencies.
GIS serves multiple purposes in forensics, including aiding in intelligence gathering by creating interactive maps that examine relationships between various pieces of evidence. This capability is valuable not only during investigations but also in courtrooms, where visual representations can enhance the understanding of cases. Additionally, GIS technology facilitates crime trend analysis, enabling police to identify patterns, allocate resources efficiently, and implement crime prevention strategies. As the benefits of GIS become increasingly recognized, its integration into law enforcement operations is expected to grow, making it a crucial tool in enhancing public safety and improving crime response strategies.
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Subject Terms
Geographic information systems and forensics
Definition: Computer-based mapping technology that can store, retrieve, and analyze relationships among geographically referenced or geospatial data.
Significance: Law-enforcement agencies employ geographic information system technology in carrying out strategic and tactical planning. The primary uses of this technology include intelligence gathering for crime analysis, crime trend analysis, and crime prevention.
The advent of geographic information system (GIS) technology transformed cthe scientific field of cartography (mapmaking) and allowed for the storage and manipulation of what was once thought to be an unmanageable number of data points into an interactive, visual, and efficient method of communicating information. The first use of modern-day GIS technology for criminal justice and forensics in the United States can be traced to the 1960s, when the police department in St. Louis, Missouri, used crime-mapping technology to improve the efficiency of patrol operations. At this early stage of development, however, GIS technology and computer hardware were bulky and very expensive, so these tools of information management were used only by a small number of government entities that had sufficient resources.
Trends
It was not until the late 1980s and early 1990s, when GIS software and desktop computers became less expensive and more user-friendly, that increasing numbers of law-enforcement agencies began to adopt GIS technology. This is not to suggest that law enforcement has fully embraced the utility of GIS in crime fighting and crime prevention, however. A survey of police departments across the United States revealed that only 13 percent of them were using crime-mapping software during the late 1990s, and, on average, those departments had been using GIS technology only for about three years. By far, the largest departments (those with one hundred or more officers) were the ones that had adopted GIS to map crime trends and calls for service, to identify hot spots for crime control and crime prevention activities, and to archive data, for example. Large police departments were about ten times more likely than small departments to have adopted GIS technology.
Although GIS technology and computers are recognized as being less costly, faster, and more efficient than traditional methods of data collection and analysis in law enforcement, many police departments, both large and small, have not perceived an immediate need to adopt GIS technology and transform what they consider to be time-tested and relatively effective ways of responding to crime and promoting public safety. Many police administrators do not understand how GIS technology could improve law enforcement and, consequently, the roles and functions of GIS in criminal forensics have only scratched the surface of what is possible.
GIS technology has continued to evolve and improved in areas such as remote sensing, statistical crime forecasting, and integration of GIS with global positioning system (GPS) technology. As the utility of GIS technology for improving crime fighting and public safety becomes increasingly apparent, more law-enforcement agencies of all sizes will integrate this technology into their daily operations and planning.
Primary Uses
Law-enforcement agencies often use GIS technology as an aid to intelligence gathering. The evidence collected in criminal cases may come from a variety of sources, from victims to offenders, from cellular telephone signals to computer files, and from informants or witnesses to the physical locations of crimes. GIS can create interactive maps and examine relationships among relevant pieces of evidence to reconstruct the contexts in which crimes occur. This process can be extremely beneficial in criminal investigations, and prosecutors also find the maps valuable in the courtroom when they are presenting evidence to juries.
GIS technology is also useful for crime trend analysis. Police departments can employ it to plot crime data or calls for service on maps for entire cities or for specific neighborhoods. Details such as the times of day that crimes are committed and the characteristics of crimes (such as amount of property damage) can also be plotted for visual assessment or for statistical crime forecasting. Police officials may use the data derived from crime trend analyses to help with the efficient allocation of resources or to determine how best to prevent crimes in the future.
Crime prevention can be enhanced by the use of GIS technology. Law-enforcement agencies can use the information derived through crime trend analyses to discover locations of hot spots for drug dealing, auto thefts, and violent incidents, for example. Police administrators and patrol officers can use GIS mapping to help them monitor the residences of high-risk offenders, such as sex offenders, more effectively. Through trend analysis, GIS technology can locate the phone numbers of residences in an area where a particular crime problem has arisen and then call each number with a recorded message that warns residents of the crime problem, educates them on what precautions they can take, and requests that they report suspicious activities to the police.
Bibliography
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Curtis, Andrew. "Putting Fear of Crime on the Map: Investigating Perceptions of Crime Using Geographic Information Systems." Cartography and Geographic Information Science, vol. 42, no. 2, 2015, 205-207.
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Greene, R. W. Confronting Catastrophe: A GIS Handbook. ESRI Press, 2002.
Harries, Keith. Mapping Crime: Principle and Practice. National Institute of Justice, 1999.
Hill, Bryan, and Rebecca Paynich. Fundamentals of Crime Mapping. 2nd ed., Jones & Barlett Learning, 2014.
Leipnik, Mark R., and Donald P. Albert, editors. GIS in Law Enforcement: Implementation Issues and Case Studies. Taylor & Francis, 2003.
Mamalian, Cynthia A., and Nancy G. La Vigne. The Use of Computerized Crime Mapping by Law Enforcement: Survey Results. National Institute of Justice, 1999.
Perry, Walter L., et al. Predictive Policing: The Role of Crime Forecasting in Law Enforcement Operations. RAND, 2013.