16
Police Magnify Presence with Crime Mapping By Eugene Mueller Continued on page 10 Crime mapping is helping the Pennsylvania police department magnify its presence in the commu- nity without hiring additional officers. The Abington Township Police Department sees crime mapping as an extension of its existing community-based policing policies. The focus on crime prevention is central to the department’s ap- proach and involves intervening to disrupt crime patterns as early as possible. Even before the department began crime mapping, it had always tracked crime incidents in relation to location. Unfortunately, despite up- grades to the record management system (RMS) in the last decade, crime analysts and officers have had to manually sift through computer print- outs when compiling reports summarizing crime trends. The department needed a way to automate crime incident data aggregation based on location without overhauling its RMS. In fall 2003, the department acquired CrimeView, a crime mapping system that would supplement its RMS. CrimeView is a custom- ized extension to ArcGIS that uses the underly- ing data contained in a police department’s RMS to sort crime incidents by location. According to Lt. Dennis McCauley, who oversees the crime mapping analysis unit, “CrimeView was even able to be adapted to our department’s proprietary and relatively nonstandard RMS data structure. We were very happy to be able to see how well Crime- View was able to integrate with our RMS.” Crime mapping is a powerful analytical tool that is easy to use. It can quickly produce maps dis- Developing a Plan for a Successful GIS By Barry Waite, City of Carson, California Many managers and elected officials believe a GIS must begin with a detailed and comprehensive implementation plan. This plan should specify exactly what data will be collected at what level of accuracy, describe models for this data, list the applications that will be provided to each person in the organization, include job descriptions, and outline a five-year funding plan. Many managers and officials also see the de- velopment of such a plan as an unattainable goal. However, developing a plan for a GIS is not a for- midable undertaking if the work is broken down into well-defined tasks. Continued on page 10 In This Issue Police Magnify Presence with Crime Mapping p1 Developing a Plan for a Successful GIS p1 Dealing with Data Distribution Issues p2 Neighborhood-Level Participation with ArcPad p3 The Key to Intelligent Collaboration p4 2005 Business Partner Conference Awards p6 Union County Improves p7 Law Enforcement Processes Mobile GIS Enhances Prevention and Response p8 Dynamic Pavement Management with GIS p9 Mapping Impervious Areas Supports p12 Storm Water Management New Papers Concisely Offer Advice p13 One Call Service p14 Manager’s Corner ESRI • Spring 2005 GIS for State and Local Government Management Tips and Trends The Abington Township Police Department is using crime mapping as a strategic information tool to disrupt crime incident patterns.

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Page 1: ESRI In This Issue Police Magnify Presence with Crime Mappingpages.uoregon.edu/schlossb/articles/schlossberg_esri_gov.pdf · ArcGIS Publisher may provide a solution for data distribution

Police Magnify Presencewith Crime MappingBy Eugene Mueller

Continued on page 10

Crime mapping is helping the Pennsylvania police

department magnify its presence in the commu-

nity without hiring additional offi cers.

The Abington Township Police Department

sees crime mapping as an extension of its existing

community-based policing policies. The focus on

crime prevention is central to the department’s ap-

proach and involves intervening to disrupt crime

patterns as early as possible.

Even before the department began crime

mapping, it had always tracked crime incidents

in relation to location. Unfortunately, despite up-

grades to the record management system (RMS)

in the last decade, crime analysts and offi cers

have had to manually sift through computer print-

outs when compiling reports summarizing crime

trends. The department needed a way to automate

crime incident data aggregation based on location

without overhauling its RMS.

In fall 2003, the department acquired

CrimeView, a crime mapping system that would

supplement its RMS. CrimeView is a custom-

ized extension to ArcGIS that uses the underly-

ing data contained in a police department’s RMS

to sort crime incidents by location. According to

Lt. Dennis McCauley, who oversees the crime

mapping analysis unit, “CrimeView was even able

to be adapted to our department’s proprietary and

relatively nonstandard RMS data structure. We

were very happy to be able to see how well Crime-

View was able to integrate with our RMS.”

Crime mapping is a powerful analytical tool

that is easy to use. It can quickly produce maps dis-

Developing a Planfor a Successful GISBy Barry Waite, City of Carson, California

Many managers and elected offi cials believe a GIS

must begin with a detailed and comprehensive

implementation plan. This plan should specify

exactly what data will be collected at what level

of accuracy, describe models for this data, list the

applications that will be provided to each person

in the organization, include job descriptions, and

outline a fi ve-year funding plan.

Many managers and offi cials also see the de-

velopment of such a plan as an unattainable goal.

However, developing a plan for a GIS is not a for-

midable undertaking if the work is broken down

into well-defi ned tasks.

Continued on page 10

In This IssuePolice Magnify Presence with Crime Mapping p1

Developing a Plan for a Successful GIS p1

Dealing with Data Distribution Issues p2

Neighborhood-Level Participation with ArcPad p3

The Key to Intelligent Collaboration p4

2005 Business Partner Conference Awards p6

Union County Improves p7Law Enforcement Processes Mobile GIS Enhances Prevention and Response p8

Dynamic Pavement Management with GIS p9

Mapping Impervious Areas Supports p12Storm Water Management

New Papers Concisely Offer Advice p13

One Call Service p14

Manager’s Corner

ESRI • Spring 2005 GIS for State and Local Government

Management Tips and Trends

The Abington Township Police Department is using crime mapping as a strategic information tool to disrupt crime incident patterns.

Page 2: ESRI In This Issue Police Magnify Presence with Crime Mappingpages.uoregon.edu/schlossb/articles/schlossberg_esri_gov.pdf · ArcGIS Publisher may provide a solution for data distribution

2 Government Matters www.esri.com/localgov

Dealing with Data Distribution IssuesBy Christopher Thomas, ESRI Government Solutions Industry Manager

Sooner or later, every GIS manager gets a request

to provide GIS data to a consultant or third party.

On the surface this seems like a simple and

straightforward request. It usually starts with an

exchange such as: “Hello, I am a consultant for

the city and my company needs some of your GIS

data to complete a city project.”

A variant of this request is: “I am a local

developer and I need your map data to bring

companies to the community.”

Does this sound familiar? Depending on

where your city or county is in the implementation

life cycle, you will probably respond with one of

the five responses listed below.

• We’ve just begun building our GIS and the data

is not ready for distribution. (Translation: I do

not have confidence in my data yet, and I am

not prepared to take criticism so I am going to

stall any and all requests.)

• We have been building our GIS infrastructure

for some time and have tested the data so we

have confidence in it. (Translation: We invested

a lot of money in this GIS. This data is worth a

lot of money. Stall all requests.)

• Our data is available for sale. (Translation: We

are convinced we can pay for or offset the costs

of our GIS by selling our data. Stall all requests

until we receive a check.)

• Doesn’t anyone want to buy my data?

(Translation: While the requests for GIS data

came in occasionally, there hasn’t been a mad

rush to buy it. Taking a proactive approach to

selling and marketing the data could take a lot

of resources and detract from the department’s

real work. Besides, we really didn’t make a lot

of money on the data we did sell.)

• I need to figure out a mechanism to deliver

data to consultants and outside requestors.

(Translation: The GIS was implemented to

support our organization’s projects. I need to

develop a way of fulfilling requests.)

As the requirement to make GIS data available

becomes pressing, GIS managers face issues that

the managers of other departments and persons

outside of government may not fully appreciate.

These issues range from balancing the Freedom

of Information Act with concerns for public safety

stemming from more recent homeland security

measures. Often this is complicated by concerns

over protecting the government entity from

lawsuits related to misuse, misinterpretation, or

misrepresentation of raw GIS data.

Distributing raw data can also cause more

work for the GIS department. GIS staff may spend

time fielding questions posed by outside interests

who may not be GIS savvy or understand the data

design. Unfortunately, the government entity

becomes the de facto technical support mechanism

for the recipients of GIS data whether there are

resources for this task or not. The result is that

these inquiries may detract from city work.

Once the data leaves the organization, there

is no compelling argument for the requestor to

obtain updates and nothing stopping the requestor

from passing the data on to another party.

Consequently, in this scenario, a government

agency cannot prevent the use of old data on

projects.

However, there are two strategies that can

help GIS managers respond to requests for data

by consultants or third parties. Serving maps

and data via a GIS-enabled Web site powered

by ArcIMS is one approach. Publishing portable

map documents that can be viewed and queried

using the ArcGIS Publisher extension with the

free ArcReader is another method.

Using ArcIMS helps government agencies

handle many of the issues associated with

providing access to spatial data. A GIS Web

site provides both citizens and businesses with

access to this data 24 hours a day, seven days a

week. New and innovative government services

have been developed using GIS data and ArcIMS

applications. Current data, along with metadata,

can be made available. Safeguards—such as

data reformatting—protect individuals’ records,

and applications that prevent the misuse or

misinterpretation of data can be incorporated into

the site.

Many government sites allow data to be

downloaded through a data portal similar to

the Geography Network, but not all agencies

have embraced this idea. For these agencies,

ArcGIS Publisher may provide a solution for data

distribution. This extension to ArcGIS ArcInfo,

ArcEditor, and ArcView gives governments

another vehicle for sharing data and distributing

maps. With ArcGIS Publisher, data and maps can

be assembled and delivered on CD-ROM, over

the Internet, or from a local area network. The

end user can interact with the map data using

the no-cost ArcReader application. ArcReader

is a simple solution that eliminates many of the

technical support and data issues that often occur

when extending GIS to new users.

With ArcGIS Publisher, access to enterprise

data can be provided but controlled. ArcGIS

Publisher provides options for password protecting

the content; the data can be set to expire and time

out, or the data can be linked to an ArcIMS or

Web services site so the data remains current.

This prevents the use of outdated datasets while

providing security.

Either strategy or both can be used to

handle data distribution challenges faced by GIS

managers. Implementing a data delivery strategy

will let the GIS department respond in a way that

benefits the city or county, protects it from liability,

and does not burden staff. For more information

on using ArcIMS for data distribution, visit www.

esri.com/arcims. To learn more about using the

ArcGIS Publisher extension with ArcReader,

visit www.esri.com/arcgispublisher.

ArcReader can be customized to further enhance data distribution. In this case, the ArcReader interface was modified for use with a Tablet PC by public safety personnel such as firefighters.

Page 3: ESRI In This Issue Police Magnify Presence with Crime Mappingpages.uoregon.edu/schlossb/articles/schlossberg_esri_gov.pdf · ArcGIS Publisher may provide a solution for data distribution

Government Matters 3www.esri.com/localgov

With mobile GIS technology, neighborhood-

level planning and participation can be incor-

porated into the more formal aspects of gov-

ernment decision making. The following three

neighborhood-level projects involved in small

area analysis, planning, and public policy relied

on original data collection using ArcPad.

Citizen Participation with Mobile GIS

The city of Eugene and the Department of Plan-

ning, Public Policy and Management at the

University of Oregon formed a partnership that

combined GIS work by students and faculty

with area citizens’ expertise to map local com-

munity conditions in West University Neighbor-

hood (WUN), one of Eugene’s neighborhoods.

In addition to teaching students new GIS skills,

this project helped develop social networks,

organize the community, and provide a spatial

overview of a local community to its members.

The project’s centerpiece was a map show-

ing a variety of conditions that residents of the

neighborhood felt were important. GIS students

involved in the project provided a service while

gaining important hands-on skills. Neighbor-

hood leaders wanted information on three as-

pects of their neighborhood: the location and

size of city trees, the location and attributes of

streetlights, and the location and use of dump-

sters.

The neighborhood was divided into

Neighborhood-Level Participation with ArcPadBy Marc Schlossberg, University of Oregon

A neighborhood resident and University of Oregon student discuss how to record certain characteristics of a city tree.

12 sections. Teams composed of a student and

a resident collected data for all three categories

for a section. Pairing students and residents was

an important element of the project because it

helped form new relationships based on shared

expertise. The student was an expert in ArcPad

and the resident an expert on neighborhood con-

dition and history. Half the teams collected data

with ArcPad and a personal digital assistant, and

half the teams used pencil and paper. Six hours

and a pizza lunch (donated by Pegasus Pizza, a

neighborhood favorite) later, the teams had com-

pleted their work.

The data was brought back to the class-

room for synthesis. The project demonstrated

how neighborhood citizens can (more impor-

tant, should) be active in conceptualizing, col-

lecting, and analyzing data that is important to

the neighborhood.

Housing Condition Sidewalk Survey

The city of Eugene also asked the Department

of Planning, Public Policy and Management at

the University of Oregon to conduct a housing

condition survey of all residential properties in

WUN. This neighborhood, a key location for

University of Oregon students, contains many

detached single-family, owner-occupied homes.

However, the neighborhood has changed signifi-

cantly in the past decade. Most notably, many

large homes have been converted to multiple

dwellings, and other homes have been razed for

apartment development.

The survey consisted of two separate, but re-

lated, components—an external housing condition

assessment and a random sample survey of WUN

households. The project’s primary purpose was to

evaluate the extent to which substandard conditions

exist in the neighborhood.

Originally, the project called for the survey to

be conducted using paper and pencil. However, a

graduate student converted the data entry sheet into

a four page, parcel-based ArcPad form. Another stu-

dent, who had no prior GIS experience, conducted

the mobile GIS-based assessment with ease and

without error.

This ArcPad-based application saved consid-

erable time in data collection, entry, and postpro-

cessing. The project, as originally conceived, had no

mapping component, but because the data was par-

cel based, maps could be created easily. The project

converted tabular data into a format that the city and

neighborhood residents could use. The use of mobile

GIS technology not only hastened the data collec-

tion process but also resulted in a visual and spatial

representation of housing conditions that would not

otherwise have been created.

Conducting a Walkability Audit

The relationship between the form of the built en-

vironment and the level of physical activity of

citizens is an emerging hot topic in planning and

public health. This interest is partially a response

to the growing obesity epidemic in the United

States. Various government agencies are assessing

the walkability of communities and relating this to

how physically active residents are. Commonly used

measurements of walkability are connected street

networks, high densities of intersections, low den-

sities of dead-ends, short block lengths, and mixed

land uses.

Too often in considering the relationship be-

tween transportation, land-use, and physical activ-

ity issues, the walkability of communities is not

measured from a pedestrian’s point of view. A re-

search team at the University of Oregon has adapted

a pedestrian audit tool created by Dr. Kelly Clifton

and Andrea Livi at the University of Maryland and

Dr. Daniel Rodriguez at the University of North

Carolina to work with ArcPad. Using this adapted

audit tool, a field-based, geographically accurate

walkability assessment can be conducted. This GIS-

based audit is part of a larger project for understand-

ing how kids get to school and if any barriers in the

built environment present obstacles for walking or

biking to school. This project will assess the com-Continued on page 4

Page 4: ESRI In This Issue Police Magnify Presence with Crime Mappingpages.uoregon.edu/schlossb/articles/schlossberg_esri_gov.pdf · ArcGIS Publisher may provide a solution for data distribution

4 Government Matters www.esri.com/localgov

munity street segment by street segment.

Public Decision Making

The results of these three projects should help

foster better public decision making. By under-

standing deficiencies in local residential housing,

public resources can be better targeted to areas

in most need. Understanding how children get to

school should help school administrators, public

health officials, city planners, and transportation

planners incorporate walkability and accessibil-

ity factors when siting schools. Through the citi-

zen-based neighborhood planning project, citi-

zens can be actively engaged in the development

of their own communities. In each project, mobile

GIS technology and ArcPad applications were

key components that made it possible to collect

field data that was spatially referenced. Mobile

GIS can help translate information on local phe-

nomena into better public policy decisions. More

information on each project can be found at www.

uoregon.edu/~schlossb/arcpad.

Marc Schlossberg, Assistant Professor

University of Oregon

Tel.: 541-346-2046

E-mail: [email protected]

Map shows street tree data captured by residents and students. Triangles indicate trees that are less than eight inches in diameter. Hexagons show the location of trees with diameters larger than eight inches.

One of the 12 data entry screens created for the walk-ability study.

The Key to IntelligentCollaboration

Decision makers from the public and private sec-

tors will gather September 12–14, 2005, at the

Adams Mark Hotel in Denver, Colorado, for the

ESRI Homeland Security GIS Summit.

The summit provides a forum for exchang-

ing practical solutions relating to homeland se-

curity. This conference will address key issues in

emergency management, health care delivery,

transportation, distribution, communications,

utilities, law enforcement, agriculture, manufac-

turing, banking, and retail services.

Many organizations are using GIS as the

framework for intelligent collaboration. Foster-

ing partnerships among public and private sector

organizations engaged in homeland security is

a critical aspect of protecting the nation. These

partnerships accelerate and enhance the devel-

opment of informational capabilities.

Improving access to and use of spatially

relevant information in a timely manner lets deci-

sion makers and managers share a common op-

erational picture that supports effective action

for both response and recovery efforts.

The ESRI Homeland Security GIS Summit

provides a forum for business and government

leaders and IT professionals to learn and share

best practices in homeland security. Attendees

can learn from other professionals, get connect-

ed to the most current solutions, and discover

how ESRI and its partners are serving homeland

security. Those with responsibilities for worker

safety; emergency budgeting and planning;

policy development; private/public partnerships;

and data and information systems across gov-

ernmental agencies, nongovernmental organiza-

tions, and private industry will benefit from the

summit’s sessions, discussions, and demonstra-

tions.

For more information about the summit,

visit www.esri.com/hssummit. More information

about GIS and homeland security is available at

www.esri.com/homelandsecurity.

Continued from page 3

Neighborhood-Level Participationwith ArcPad

Page 5: ESRI In This Issue Police Magnify Presence with Crime Mappingpages.uoregon.edu/schlossb/articles/schlossberg_esri_gov.pdf · ArcGIS Publisher may provide a solution for data distribution

216 Aquarius Drive l Suite 319 l Birmingham, AL l [email protected] l (205) 941-0442

www.gis-services.com

Offices in Dallas/Ft. Worth, Virginia Beach, and Honolulu

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G/I/S is the proud recipient of the Inaugural ESRIFoundation Business Partner Award

and the 2002 ESRI Business Partner of the Year Award.

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Page 6: ESRI In This Issue Police Magnify Presence with Crime Mappingpages.uoregon.edu/schlossb/articles/schlossberg_esri_gov.pdf · ArcGIS Publisher may provide a solution for data distribution

6 Government Matters www.esri.com/localgov

2005 Business Partner Conference Awards Olympia RegionPartner of the Year

• GeoEngineers, Inc., ConsultantNew Partner of the Year

• GCS Research, LLC, Consultant, DeveloperFoundation Partner

• Marshall & Associates, Inc., VAR

Philadelphia RegionPartner of the Year

• GeoDecisions, Inc., Corporate Consultant, VARFoundation Partner

• Bowne Management Systems, Inc., Corporate Consultant

San Antonio RegionPartner of the Year

• Strategic Consulting International, Consultant, VARNew Partner of the Year

• NVision Solutions, Consultant, VARFoundation Partner

• IHS Energy, Developer, OEM, VAR

St. Louis RegionPartner of the Year

• MWH Global, Inc., Corporate ConsultantNew Partner of the Year

• Hyland Software, Inc., DeveloperFoundation Partner

• GISEDGE, Inc., VAR

Washington, D.C., RegionPartner of the Year

• Dewberry & Davis, LLC, Corporate ConsultantFoundation Partner

• Edgetech America, Inc., Developer, VAR

International AwardsAustraliaNew Partner of the Year

• Ecowise Technologies Pty, Ltd., Developer

BrazilFoundation Partner

• OceansatPEG SA, Developer

CanadaPartner of the Year

• Latitude Geographics Group, Ltd., DeveloperNew Partner of the Year

• Helical Systems, Inc., DeveloperFoundation Partner

• DMTI Spatial, Inc., Developer

ChinaPartner of the Year

• Shanghai Digital Intelligence Co., Ltd., Developer

GermanyPartner of the Year

• IPM Ingenieurbüro Peter Müller GmbH, DeveloperNew Partner of the Year

• Speedikon Facility Management AG, DeveloperFoundation Partner

• Infraplan Syscon GmbH, Developer

SwedenPartner of the Year

• Triona AB, Consultant, VARNew Partner of the Year

• Cartesia, VARFoundation Partner

• Metria Nord, Developer, Consultant

SwitzerlandPartner of the Year

• GEOCOM Informatik AG, Developer, OEM

United KingdomNew Partner of the Year

• AIRCOM International Ltd., Developer, OEM

At the 2005 ESRI Worldwide Business Partner

Conference, held February 12–15, 2005, in Palm

Springs, California, business partners across the

United States and throughout the world were

recognized for their achievements. Each ESRI

regional office and international distributor can

nominate one business partner for each award

category.

Partners can receive Partner of the Year,

New Partner of the Year, and Foundation Partner

Awards. The Partner of the Year Award recogniz-

es performance denoted by strong sales or busi-

ness growth, product innovation, or exceptional

teamwork in efforts such as working with a re-

gional office in developing a solution or execut-

ing a marketing campaign. The criteria for the

New Partner of the Year Award is the same as for

Partner of the Year, but only companies that have

been ESRI partners for less than two years are eli-

gible. The Foundation Partner Award recognizes

partners who have built a strong relationship with

ESRI.

Boston RegionPartner of the Year

• Bergmann Associates PC, Corporate Consultant, Developer

Foundation Partner • Green Mountain GeoGraphics, Ltd., VAR

California RegionPartner of the Year

• Davis Demographics and Planning, Inc., Developer, VAR

New Partner of the Year• Allen Instruments & Supplies, VAR

Foundation Partner• The Omega Group, Developer, Limited Reseller,

OEM, VAR

Charlotte RegionPartner of the Year

• Watershed Concepts, Consultant, Developer, VARNew Partner of the Year

• SAS Institute, Inc., DeveloperFoundation Partner

• Utility Automation Integrators, Corporate Consultant, Developer, VAR

Denver RegionPartner of the Year

• CH2M HILL, Inc., Corporate ConsultantFoundation Partner

• Azteca Systems, Inc., Developer, OEM

Minneapolis RegionPartner of the Year

• United Services Group, DeveloperFoundation Partner

• Great Arc Technologies, Inc., Developer, VAR

ESRIHomeland SecurityGIS Summit• Denver, Colorado• September 12–14, 2005

For Information Visitwww.esri.com/hssummit

Reserve the Date

Page 7: ESRI In This Issue Police Magnify Presence with Crime Mappingpages.uoregon.edu/schlossb/articles/schlossberg_esri_gov.pdf · ArcGIS Publisher may provide a solution for data distribution

Government Matters 7www.esri.com/localgov

Union County ImprovesLaw Enforcement Processes

In early 2003, the GIS department for Union

County, New Jersey, faced several technologi-

cal challenges. With slightly more than 500,000

residents, the county ranks third in population

density in the state and the county’s GIS staff

realized it had many prospective public and in-

house users for its data. However, the county did

not have a system for making this data available

to the public in a controlled and efficient manner.

The county also lacked sufficient GIS personnel

to support internal users in each department. The

county needed a single cost-effective solution

that would make its geographic data available to

all types of users.

Moreover, the county wanted to leverage

its GIS data to streamline some law enforcement

processes. In 1994, the state of New Jersey was

horrified to learn of the abduction, rape, and mur-

der of seven-year-old Megan Kanka of Trenton,

New Jersey, by a convicted sex offender who

had moved anonymously into a house across the

street from Megan’s family. In response, New

Jersey and most other states in the United States

implemented a new law, which became known as

Megan’s Law, that requires released sex offenders

to register their address whenever they move.

During the process of revamping its GIS

delivery system, Union County wanted to make

sure that it could use GIS technology to make it

easier for the public and law enforcement profes-

sionals to quickly access information related to

Megan’s Law.

“We had GIS data, but we could not serve all

our departments because either they did not have

the GIS background or could not afford to have

a GIS technician per department,” said Matthew

Mathan, GIS bureau chief for Union County. He

said they were looking for an off-the-shelf tool

that could provide customized Web-based access

to existing data without requiring programming

expertise.

By early 2004, the Union County GIS staff

chose OnPoint from Orion Technology Inc. Us-

ing OnPoint, Union County’s in-house staff built

a Map Viewer tool on its public Web site (ucgis.

ucnj.org/gismaps/onpoint). Visitors can now find

addresses, intersections, facilities, and property

information in their area by using interactive

graphic maps. From a clearly labeled initial view,

visitors can click different regions of the maps

to zoom to specific areas of interest or perform a

quick search to take them directly to the informa-

tion they need.

After only a few months, the results have

been extremely encouraging. Mathan believes

Union County was the first government agency

to incorporate a Megan’s Law database with GIS.

The Union County prosecutor’s office now uses

this service regularly as do other county depart-

ments and 21 of the county’s towns. All activities

related to Megan’s Law are coordinated by the

GIS Web site. Photographs of the sex offenders

were added. Law enforcement staff now use the

GIS Web site to access the imagery to evaluate

activities related to investigation as well as crime

scene maps.

“Although these staff members don’t know

anything about GIS, through the Orion Web site,

they can use the county’s GIS data in conjunc-

tion with Megan’s Law data,” said Mathan. “This

has saved money and revolutionized the way the

county conducts Megan’s Law notification.”

Thanks to a built-in administration tool pro-

vided by Orion, Mathan’s staff can maintain the

GIS Web site using a point-and-click interface

that is easy to use and does not require program-

ming expertise. The staff chooses which data to

make available, creates customized skins for data

presentation that matches the look and feel of the

GIS component with that of the overall site, and

controls the access parameters. The administrator

can also assign security to user groups based on

a user name and password. The functionality, ap-

pearance, and content that individuals accessing

the site experience are determined by the adminis-

trator.

The Union County GIS department is look-

ing into crime mapping and analysis using GIS

data in conjunction with the crime database from

the 21 police departments in Union County. “We

are planning to serve the crime data using Orion

Web site software using their advanced tools, and

it will be another fantastic project,” said Mathan.

“We are in the process of implementing a few

other new GIS Web sites related to our internal

departments.”

Mathan’s staff also plans to integrate the

region’s real estate database with the existing

GIS infrastructure. This, too, won’t require any

additional programming resources. The county’s

GIS expansion plans will also include support

for area businesses. Union County is home to

the world headquarters of Merck and Co., Lucent

Technologies, Schering-Plough, and Wakefern

Food Corporation, with strong local industries in

retail, pharmaceuticals, petroleum, and telecom-

munications.

Thanks to Union County’s GIS vision and

with help from Orion Technology Inc., Union

County now has a solid GIS platform for future

development, and Mathan’s staff fully intends to

make the most of it.

Matthew Mathan, Bureau Chief

Bureau of GIS, Division of IT

10 Elizabeth Town Plaza

Elizabeth, NJ 07207

Tel.: 908-527-4076Using OnPoint, Union County’s in-house staff built a Map Viewer tool on its public Web site that lets visitors find addresses, intersections, facilities, and property information using interactive graphic maps.

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8 Government Matters www.esri.com/localgov

Mobile GIS Enhances Prevention and Response

The mosquito control division of the public health

department in a Texas county is using GIS and

GPS as part of a comprehensive program for pre-

venting and controlling mosquito-borne diseases.

The Harris County Mosquito Control (HCMC)

division operates as a series of systems that per-

forms disease surveillance, tests the effectiveness

of abatement efforts, and conducts pesticide re-

sistance testing.

Harris County, Texas, is the third largest

county in the United States. Its population of

more than 3.5 million is spread over 1,700 square

miles. HCMC serves the entire county including

the city of Houston. As part of the county health

department, HCMC has taken an active role in de-

veloping technology that better serves the public

and helps prevent vector-borne diseases, particu-

larly St. Louis encephalitis and West Nile virus.

HCMC received one of the Mobile Govern-

ment grants given jointly by ESRI and Trimble.

The grant made detailed field data collection pos-

sible and streamlined the data integration tech-

niques of field staff and managers. The county

received a Trimble GeoXT handheld field data

collection unit with ArcPad. HCMC personnel

have developed better field data collection tech-

niques and are more effectively monitoring sur-

veillance and control efforts. The use of GIS and

GPS has become integral to disease surveillance

in Harris County. This equipment has significant-

ly enhanced HCMC’s ability to respond to disease

outbreaks.

Traditionally, spatial analysis of disease has

been fundamental to public health departments.

Activities such as public notification, archiving,

analysis of treatment efforts, and research collab-

orations all have integrated geospatial data. This

team of entomologists, field and laboratory staff,

public health officials, and one geographer uses

geospatial technology to gather, sort, display, and

analyze data relating to mosquito-borne diseases.

HCMC laboratory personnel act in concert

with field personnel in collecting mosquitoes and

birds for disease surveillance and conducting on-

site testing and evaluations. ArcPad forms expe-

dite entry of data that was previously recorded on

paper then manually entered into a database by

field personnel after returning to the main office.

Now field technicians and supervisors can collect

surveyed coordinates for a variety of data, dis-

play sites on a reference map, and immediately

capture environmental conditions and the po-

tential mosquito-breeding habitat locations. The

form simplifies the process of recording accurate

data. Some frequently used applications include

the Inspector’s forms for monitoring collection

sites for mosquito larvae and areas treated with

larvicide.

The Test and Evaluation (T&E) laboratory

assesses commercially manufactured mosquito

trap endurance and effectiveness for mosquito

abatement and surveillance. In addition, the T&E

laboratory conducts resistance testing of commer-

cially available pesticide products to determine

if the mosquito populations breeding in specific

areas of Harris County are becoming resistant or

less sensitive to pesticides.

To test pesticide resistance, pole-mounted

cages are erected in a 200-by-300 foot grid. Each

pole holds two cages. Each cage contains a care-

fully counted number of Culex quinquefasciatus

mosquitoes, the main vector species of St. Louis

encephalitis and West Nile virus in this region.

One cage contains the test mosquitoes collected

from field populations, and the other contains a

susceptible strain of colony mosquitoes.

The next step in the resistance testing is the

introduction of the pesticide. In this region, the

ultra-low volume spray truck is the most com-

monly used application method. For the test, the

spray truck is driven at five miles per hour past

the grid in a path perpendicular to the prevailing

winds so the plume of pesticide is carried through

the grid of poles. After the drift has dissipated, Simple maps that use familiar geographic boundaries—zip codes—help HCMC notify the public of aerial treatment for vector-borne disease.

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Government Matters 9www.esri.com/localgov

Dynamic Pavement Management with GIS

Sonoma County’s Department of Transporta-

tion and Public Works implemented an enter-

prise GIS pavement management system that

dynamically segments streets into pavement

sections for real-time scenario and mainte-

nance analysis.

The county worked with Farallon Geo-

graphics to implement this system. It ensures

that visual displays are always in sync with

the tabular data for the county’s 1,387 miles of

roadway. Hundreds of thousands of residents and visitors to the San Francisco Bay Area travel these

roads. To track and manage the condition of its road network, the county uses StreetSaver 8.0, a

pavement management system (PMS) application that was developed by the Metropolitan Transpor-

tation Commission (MTC), the Bay Area’s regional transportation planning and financing agency.

County engineers used StreetSaver and a Microsoft SQL Server database to store and analyze

the condition of the county road network and define and adjust maintenance treatments and costs.

Engineering technicians enter information about specific stretches of roads into a StreetSaver form.

Using this data, StreetSaver calculates important measures of that street segment’s pavement condi-

tion. These calculations are used to assess the quality of the county’s streets and allocate pavement

maintenance budgets.

While StreetSaver is a powerful pavement management tool, its output is limited to forms and

tabular reports. County engineers recognized that presenting analysis results using maps would

allow both managers and technicians to see where maintenance efficiencies might be gained. Un-

fortunately, StreetSaver and the county’s GIS were not linked and contained different types of data.

To display road condition information, county managers printed hard-copy maps from the GIS and

manually highlighted problem areas identified using StreetSaver database printouts.

Both MTC and the county realized that linking and dynamically integrating GIS and Street-

Saver would be necessary to create detailed street maps that displayed pavement condition and

maintenance information. Farallon Geographics installed ArcSDE with a Microsoft SQL Server

database. Through data modeling and testing, dynamic views were created that allowed the infor-

mation in the GIS to be shared with the StreetSaver database. ArcGIS tools were used to develop

dynamic segmentation procedures that rendered the StreetSaver database to post mile data to the

GIS. Segmentation of the streets into paving sections is done dynamically when the user requests

the information, so the two datasets never get out of sync.

Dynamic segmentation allows edits to be made to the StreetSaver data directly from the GIS

by clicking on a segment and changing its criteria. Pavement managers can immediately see the

results of these data changes on a map. Using Farallon’s integrated GIS and PMS, county staff can

quickly enter StreetSaver information into the GIS, perform spatial analysis, and quickly create

maps showing distressed streets.

“We already had spent the time and research to develop a route-based system,” said Tom

Nguyen, senior engineering program analyst with Sonoma County’s Department of Transportation

and Public Works. “Public Works staff could now use Farallon’s GIS-PMS to quickly create and

present maps showing the extent of distressed pavement and the location and number of lanes and

average daily traffic volume throughout the county.” The county can also show funding agencies its

street maintenance responsibility.

The county’s goal was the improvement of work flow, and its route-based GIS has made the

county a model for other cities and counties. “Ultimately, the team effort resulted in a solid return

on investment through the real-time visualization of interactive maps,” said Dennis Wuthrich, CEO

of Farallon Geographics.

Joe Metro

Farallon Geographics, Inc.

609 Mission Street, 2nd Floor

San Francisco, California 94105

E-mail: [email protected]

the mosquitoes are collected from the cages. The

collection of survivors is observed during the fol-

lowing days in the laboratory, and mortality rates

are noted for each site. This allows the T&E labo-

ratory staff to ascertain the effectiveness of the

tested pesticide; the results become invaluable for

vector-borne disease prevention.

The use of georeferenced data helps ensure

the accuracy of the grid setup and drive path for

the spray truck. The data recorded at each pole

site is then used to analyze and display the sen-

sitivity of the mosquitoes at each site to specific

pesticides. Although this project was not included

in the original Mobile Government grant propos-

al, it has proven to be one of the most beneficial

uses of the grant.

The advantages of field data collection have

been used in the HCMC sections of Inspection,

Test and Evaluation, Mosquito Surveillance, and

Avian Surveillance. ArcPad Application Builder

was used to create forms for specific purposes.

While each section of HCMC is unique in its

function and collection techniques, each gathers

point data. During the initial planning of the field

data collection forms, each section only requested

a simple form that could easily be completed in

the field and would seamlessly record the same

data they were entering in the office.

Data management has been improved by

using data tables stored in Microsoft Access da-

tabases that were created by each section. These

data tables store detailed data for each sample

collected and each site visited. The ArcPad forms

developed for each section are simple and create

a DBF file that can be downloaded and integrated

into the existing databases since the fields used in

the forms correspond to those already being used

in the existing database. Building on the present

database format, the ArcPad forms were easily

deployed to field personnel already familiar with

the data they had to collect.

HCMC personnel have aggressively imple-

mented an active and updated geographic infor-

mation system. They strive to build better data-

sets and share valuable data with other agencies

in a timely manner. As a public agency, HCMC

has set the standard in vector and disease sur-

veillance. As part of the Harris County Health

department and the greater Harris County area,

HCMC actively promotes the use of GIS in all as-

pects of surveillance, analysis, and reduction of

disease occurrence. For more information, visit

the Harris County Health Department Web site at

www.harriscountyhealth.com or contact Chris-

tina Hailey at [email protected].

Page 10: ESRI In This Issue Police Magnify Presence with Crime Mappingpages.uoregon.edu/schlossb/articles/schlossberg_esri_gov.pdf · ArcGIS Publisher may provide a solution for data distribution

10 Government Matters www.esri.com/localgov

Continued from page 1

Police Magnify Presencewith Crime Mapping

playing crime patterns, frequencies, and densities.

The department immediately began mapping the

frequency and location of vehicle accidents. Com-

puter-generated maps quickly identify dangerous

intersections and streets so traffic controls can be

modified to reduce risk and extra officers can be

assigned to enforcement. The manual methods

previously used for plotting accidents had delayed

remedial action.

The highest international standards of pro-

fessional police management, as set forth by the

Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforce-

ment Agencies (CALEA), require that police agen-

cies make use of crime analysis information for

recognizing crime patterns and estimating future

crime trends. As a CALEA-accredited agency,

the Abington Township Police Department is us-

ing crime mapping as a strategic information tool

to disrupt crime incident patterns. By analyzing

patterns, McCauley believes the department can

understand how criminals think and where they

will strike next. Deploying officers and alerting

residents should improve the chances of catching

perpetrators.

The department’s reaction to the crime map-

ping system is revealing. Since McCauley made

his CrimeView presentation at the department’s

winter 2004 training session, he has received many

requests from all sectors of the department for

mapping analysis projects. He believes everyone

in the department has been waiting a long time for

crime mapping. The department is now adopting a

new form to manage incoming requests for crime

incident maps.

The next step for the Abington Township

Police Department and crime mapping is the bi-

weekly production of specific crime incident maps

to be used by officers and detectives in patrol and

investigative work. McCauley is adamant when he

says that “We’re not just going to let crime map-

ping sit on our network collecting virtual dust.

We’re going to get it into the hands of those who

need it most.” His two civilian staff members are

charged with this task as well as fielding request

forms that are submitted. This two-way exchange

will lead to the refinement of the crime mapping

process and better problem solving.

Using crime mapping technology is helping

the department provide police services as efficient-

ly as possible. As McCauley observes, “CrimeView

is helping us be more efficient by being a more ef-

fective presence through crime prevention, shut-

ting down crime patterns, and addressing quality

of life issues. It’s giving us a boost in making the

residents feel safer and confident that their police

protection is of the highest quality.”

Continued from page 1

Developing a Planfor a Successful GIS

New technologies require a champion, and

GIS is no exception. This person promotes the

system to others in the organization and lob-

bies for needed resources. The most important

qualifications for this position are enthusiasm

and the ability to get the attention of decision

makers.

Where do you find such a person? Look

in the mirror. If you have read this far, you may

be just the person to take up the cause of GIS in

your organization.

The project manager is another key play-

er. The project manager handles the organiza-

tional side of GIS while the champion serves as

the cheerleader. The champion and the project

manager are often the same person. If two peo-

ple fill these roles, how tasks will be divided

depends on their respective abilities, knowl-

edge, and positions within the organization.

Involve not only potential users but also

any other people in the organization who will

impact or be impacted by GIS. Extending the

scope of participation is a good idea because

the people who end up becoming users are fre-

quently not the people originally envisioned

as users. Gaining participation from different

parts of an organization will help broaden sup-

port for the GIS and may also lead to the cre-

ation of an enterprise system that serves and

connects multiple divisions within an organi-

zation.

The core group of supporters can also

form the basis of a user group that will guide

planning and implementation of the system.

They can also help gain support from senior

management and elected officials. The user

group can be an ongoing part of any GIS pro-

gram and can provide overall guidance and act

as a forum for sharing ideas and resources.

To develop a successful user group:

• Form the group early in the implementa-

tion process.

• Make sure members know they have the

backing of upper management, even if initially

support is only for an exploratory effort.

• Keep the user group and management in-

formed as the process moves forward to help

ensure their continuing support.

A user group need not have a formal struc-

ture. It serves as a forum for sharing ideas and

seeking solutions to shared problems. In some

cases, the group acts as a steering committee

that sets policy and allocates resources. In other

cases, it meets occasionally and informally to

share ideas and discuss issues faced by employ-

ees who use GIS or whose work is impacted

by GIS. Either type of group can help develop

a plan for a GIS. When given the opportunity

for innovative action that has an impact on the

organization, previously unenthusiastic staff

members may get excited about GIS. In the long

run, initial skeptics can become the program’s

biggest supporters.

The planning process needs people from all

levels of the organization. Any new information

technology project can be a cause for concern

for employees. Involving them early will help

them better understand what GIS can do and

how it will impact them. If they have a voice in

developing the plan, it will be easier to get their

cooperation in implementing and maintaining

the system later. Getting input from across the

organization—from directors to line workers—

can ensure the plan is comprehensive.

Manager’s Corner

This worldwide celebration of the power

of GIS to transform our lives is slated for

November 16, 2005. Join the thousands of

participants in this event designed to make

the public more aware of and knowledgeable

about GIS. Visit www.gisday.com to learn

how your organization can participate.

Celebrate the SeventhAnnual GIS Day

Page 11: ESRI In This Issue Police Magnify Presence with Crime Mappingpages.uoregon.edu/schlossb/articles/schlossberg_esri_gov.pdf · ArcGIS Publisher may provide a solution for data distribution

Barnhart/CMI 303-626-7200 Publication Date: October 2004 04-TN-006

”Where is the fire hydrant?”should never be a multiple choice question.

How important is it to collect accurate

data every day? Ask the person who

needed it five minutes ago. That’s why

the Trimble® GPS Analyst™ extension

for ESRI ArcGIS software needs to be

part of your GIS solution. GPS Analyst

allows GIS professionals to directly

process GPS data inside the ArcGIS

software environment. You’ll get more

done in your busy day, because you

can check GPS data straight from the

field into your geodatabase. And it all

functions on a customizable, open

architecture. To improve your GPS

accuracy, visit www.trimble.com.

www.trimble.com

© 2004, Trimble Navigation Limited. All rights reserved. Trimble and the Globe & Triangle logo are trademarks of Trimble Navigation Limited registered in the United States Patent andTrademark Office and other countries. GPS Analyst is a trademark of Trimble Navigation Limited. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Page 12: ESRI In This Issue Police Magnify Presence with Crime Mappingpages.uoregon.edu/schlossb/articles/schlossberg_esri_gov.pdf · ArcGIS Publisher may provide a solution for data distribution

12 Government Matters www.esri.com/localgov

Municipalities are conducting impervious sur-

veys to control nonpoint source runoff using

ArcGIS with the Feature Analyst extension from

Visual Learning Systems, Inc. (VLS). Nonpoint

source (NPS) pollution is a critical environmental

problem affecting urban areas. NPS pollution can

include storm water runoff from impervious sur-

faces such as parking lots, roads, building roofs,

and sidewalks. This runoff can contain many

types of pollutants—heavy metals, litter, oils,

road salt, and chemical compounds.

Although progress has been made in ad-

dressing point sources, much work remains in

assessing and controlling nonpoint sources.

Detailed data on surface imperviousness is in-

creasingly important in storm water planning

activities such as setting priorities and establish-

ing rate structures. Many municipalities are using

Mapping Impervious Areas Supports Storm Water Management

revenue from user fees and other mechanisms to

fund investigations and develop best management

practices (BMP) based on the amount of impervi-

ous surface at the parcel level.

For cash-strapped municipalities, determin-

ing impervious surface area with remote sensing

and satellite imagery provides cost savings over

traditional manual methods for mapping impervi-

ous areas from standard aerial photographs. The

cost savings result from the lower cost of satel-

lite imagery and the reduced staff time needed for

analysis. At regional scales, the cost savings can

be significant.

Remote sensing for impervious surface

calculations and land-use planning is playing an

important role in watershed and storm water plan-

ning studies. These studies confirm that feature

extraction is a viable alternative to manual digiti-

zation.

Santa Barbara County, California, is assess-

ing impervious areas for use in watershed and

subwatershed BMP implementation and plan-

ning for unincorporated, developed areas under

county jurisdiction using the VLS Feature Ana-

lyst extension for ArcGIS. Analysts chose to meet

the objectives using remote sensing from high-

resolution satellite imagery combined with GIS

analysis.

The satellite imaging technique was a cost-

effective, accurate means of determining hard-

scape at the parcel level, according to Rob Almy,

manager of the Santa Barbara County Water

Agency. “We intend to use the remote-sensing

data, coupled with other themes from the county’s

GIS database, to model urban areas at the subwa-

tershed level in our development and implemen-

Impervious surfaces for Vandenberg Village, California, extracted from the imagery are displayed in yellow using VLS’s Feature Analyst feature extraction software.

Satellite image and ground photo of a high school in Vandenberg Village, California, identifying common features.

Page 13: ESRI In This Issue Police Magnify Presence with Crime Mappingpages.uoregon.edu/schlossb/articles/schlossberg_esri_gov.pdf · ArcGIS Publisher may provide a solution for data distribution

Government Matters 13www.esri.com/localgov

tation of effective storm water BMPs.”

The project used archived aerial imagery

for two areas within Santa Barbara County

and approximately 240 square kilometers of

new imagery for another area in the county.

Based on the results of the remote-sensing

imperviousness determination and an analy-

sis of subwatershed delineations and detailed

land-use data, several useful BMP planning

layers were developed.

Using available land-use classification

data, single-family residential areas were

delineated by neighborhood block. For plan-

ning-level mapping, areas of high relative

imperviousness are identified using an area-

weighted averaging approach. The result of

this method is a continuous (as opposed to

binary) data layer depicting percent imper-

viousness. Maps resulting from this imper-

viousness analysis clearly identify hot spots

of imperviousness and can be thematically

displayed in ArcMap with user-defined im-

pervious thresholds (percentage), thereby

facilitating efforts to target specific BMP

implementation.

As high-quality, low-cost, remote-sens-

ing data has become readily available, agen-

cies (even those with modest budgets) that

are willing to embrace innovative approaches

are seeing benefits. Remote sensing can pro-

vide a cost-effective tool for evaluating storm

water and watershed issues. Change analysis

can determine the location of problem storm

water areas in a large watershed. Just as wa-

tershed managers have become comfortable

using GIS in watershed assessment and plan-

ning, they also will need to learn how to ben-

efit from using remote-sensing data.

Although the focus of the remote-sens-

ing case studies has been to establish detailed

GIS layers, primarily for storm water plan-

ning, entities that are applying remote-sens-

ing approaches realize that they are making

a significant step toward addressing future

needs. The detailed data stemming from re-

mote-sensing studies is becoming the basis

for dramatic improvements in water quality

and watershed management that were once

considered impossible because of the high

cost of analyzing site-specific data. In the

coming years, remote sensing promises to be

the major source of data for large-scale water

quality and quantity studies.

Jeffery Rogers, GISP

GIS Manager

GeoSyntec Consultants

E-mail: [email protected]

Several technical briefs, short papers prepared by ESRI’s Systems Integration Services, offer the lat-

est ESRI software solution and vendor solution trends affecting enterprise GIS. The papers currently

available are

ArcIMS Configuration Performance Factors—Discusses the ArcIMS configuration factors that impact

performance.

Identifying Firewall TCP Server Ports in an Enterprise ArcIMS Configuration—Identifies which fire-

wall TCP server ports are used between various ArcIMS subsystems (i.e., Web server, Applications

Server, Monitor, and Tasker).

ArcSDE High-Availability Overview—Examines the components of an ArcSDE implementation, the ele-ments that are required for high availability, and the options for implementing them. It also discusses the implications of choosing various options when configuring an implementation.

ArcSDE Geodatabase Replication Overview—Explores the realities of replicating data in an ArcGIS en-terprise using an ArcSDE geodatabase and an industry-standard database management system.

ArcSDE Tiered Hardware Configurations—Discusses how ArcSDE, as part of a flexible GIS data man-agement architecture, can be configured to work with either a two-tier or three-tier hardware configuration with multiple GIS client connection options.

Enterprise Storage Technologies—Explores the differences between Direct Attach Storage (DAS), Stor-age Area Network (SAN), and Network Attach Storage (NAS) solutions.

Image Storage Architecture—Discusses Image Storage Architecture (ISA) in enterprise GIS environ-ments.

ArcSDE 9 and SQL Server 2000 MSCS Active/Passive Cluster Configuration—Documents a working configuration of ArcSDE 9 and Microsoft s̓ SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition in an Active/Passive Mi-crosoft Cluster Server (MSCS) configuration.

To download these papers and view other resources, visit the ESRI Systems Integral Technical Briefs

page at www.esri.com/systemsint/kbase/techbriefs.html.

New Papers Concisely Offer Advice

Government Directory

Name Title 909-793-2853Extension E-mail

Christopher ThomasFederal, State, and Local Government Solutions Manager

1-1819 [email protected]

Richard LeadbeaterState Government Solutions Manager

301-317-6285 [email protected]

Kim BurnsFederal Government Solutions Manager

1-2712 [email protected]

Jeff AllenState and Local Government Coordinator

1-2676 [email protected]

Bill DavenhallHealth and Human Services Solutions Manager

1-1714 [email protected]

Lew NelsonLaw Enforcement Solutions Manager

1-1690 [email protected]

Russ Johnson Public Safety Solutions Manager 1-1836 [email protected]

Kevin Daugherty Cadastral Manager 1-1586 [email protected]

Milton OspinaPlanning and EconomicDevelopment Solutions Manager

1-2410 [email protected]

Mike Weir Survey Solutions Manager 1-1002 [email protected]

Mike DaluzForestry and Wildland Fire Industry Manager

1-2708 [email protected]

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14 Government Matters www.esri.com/localgov

A City Service Representative uses a customized browser to view all the data needed to assist a caller. (Photo by Elaine Tricoli)

Thanks to a GIS-driven asset management sys-

tem, the citizens of Greensboro, North Carolina,

no longer have to sift through hundreds of tele-

phone numbers to locate city services. The city’s

Contact Center ensures that inquiries are effec-

tively addressed.

Situated in central North Carolina, Greens-

boro is the state’s third largest city with a popu-

lation of more than 220,000. Greensboro’s popu-

lation and businesses have grown steadily since

its establishment in 1808 and so has the need for

municipal services.

The city’s Contact Center promptly answers

questions and responds to requests for service.

The city believes in offering high-quality service.

“This commitment has long been part of our cul-

ture and is the driving force behind everything

we do,” said Stephen Sherman, GIS manager for

the city of Greensboro.

Previously, Greensboro published more than

400 telephone numbers, and citizens often did not

know whom to call for help. The city began im-

plementing the Contact Center to more effective-

ly receive and process citizen calls by providing a

single point of access to services. Because many

calls result in service requests, a new approach to

city asset and work order management was also

required.

“We needed to consolidate all work order

and asset management into one system. We knew

the location data in our GIS would tie the system

together,” explained Sherman. Nearly a decade

ago Greensboro began building an enterprise-

wide GIS system that would serve as the founda-

One Call Service tion for improving the way services are delivered

to citizens.

In August 2003, Greensboro formed a com-

mittee that spent the next year planning, proto-

typing, and testing a new enterprisewide asset

management system that leveraged the city’s GIS,

enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, and

the developing Contact Center. After an elabo-

rate evaluation process, ESRI business partner

Datastream of Greenville, South Carolina, was

chosen as the asset management system provider.

Implementation began in August 2004 with

the Greensboro Department of Transportation

(GDOT). GDOT was chosen because its data is

representative of other city departments. Experi-

ence dealing with all these feature types would

help as the system was rolled out across the city.

The city’s MIS Department developed a cus-

tomized application with an embedded ArcIMS

map service that accesses ArcSDE running on

Microsoft’s SQL Server. During GDOT’s imple-

mentation, the city also built the connection to the

ERP system and integrated the Contact Center

with Datastream 7i. The ArcIMS map service and

Datastream 7i processes occur in the background

and are transparent to the end user. Each City Ser-

vice Representative (CSR) working in the Contact

Center uses a customized browser to view all the

data needed to assist a caller.

A work order begins when a citizen calls

the Contact Center and talks with a CSR about

some concern such as a pothole. In this example,

the CSR would ask the caller for a street address,

intersection, or other location information. This

information would be used to geocode the loca-

tion and zoom the map display to that area. In this

case, street centerlines automatically become the

active layer. The CSR clicks the centerline con-

taining the pothole and invokes the correspond-

ing GIS record so the CSR can add comments, a

problem code, and the citizen’s name and phone

number for follow-up. A work order is created

and automatically written to the asset manage-

ment system using a Web services call. Previ-

ously, city personnel used paper maps to prepare

work orders. Now, access to geodatabase data is

embedded in the work order system.

The work order is automatically e-mailed to

a supervisor. The supervisor views a map show-

ing the location of the new work order, identifies

in which GDOT service district it is located, and

assigns a crew. The job is closed only after the

work is performed, the paperwork returned, and

the hours and materials recorded. The city can

now measure the turnaround time for service re-

quests as well as material, equipment, and labor

costs. The system also provides detailed data on

the work performed on each street segment so

streets with structural problems can be identi-

fied.

Integrating ArcInfo with asset management

tools has improved turnaround times, particu-

larly for jobs that require coordinating the efforts

of multiple departments. For example, to fix a

broken waterline, the Water Resources Depart-

ment digs up the street and fixes the waterline.

Next, one GDOT team fills the hole and patches

the street. Another GDOT team repaints the lines.

“Our system allows one team to complete its por-

tion of a job and transfer the work order electroni-

cally to the next group, then on to the last,” said

Sherman.

Previously, repairs such as a broken water-

line required additional time because three dif-

ferent work orders were generated by three sepa-

rate work order systems. Now a single work order

system tracks when the call is received, when the

work order is completed, and all costs.

The city has leveraged additional value from

its ArcSDE geodatabase. GDOT’s inventory of

the storm water system contains more than 50,000

features that were collected for modeling but had

not been used for maintenance. Storm water sys-

tem ArcSDE data was fed into Datastream 7i,

which gave GDOT immediate access to all the

assets needed to write work orders without col-

lecting those features again. This integration has

helped create feedback mechanisms for updating

the geodatabase whenever fieldwork is complet-

ed, keeping GIS data current.

For more information on Greensboro’s GIS

Division, visit www.greensboro-nc.gov/dtf/GIS2/

MasterHome.htm. For information on Datastream,

see www.datastream.net. For additional informa-

tion on this project, contact Stephen Sherman at

[email protected] or Marty

Osborn at [email protected].

Page 15: ESRI In This Issue Police Magnify Presence with Crime Mappingpages.uoregon.edu/schlossb/articles/schlossberg_esri_gov.pdf · ArcGIS Publisher may provide a solution for data distribution
Page 16: ESRI In This Issue Police Magnify Presence with Crime Mappingpages.uoregon.edu/schlossb/articles/schlossberg_esri_gov.pdf · ArcGIS Publisher may provide a solution for data distribution

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The State and Local Government Solutions TeamChristopher Thomas, Federal, State, and Local Government Solutions Manager E-mail: [email protected]

Milton Ospina, Planning and Economic Development Solutions Manager E-mail: [email protected]

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Richard Leadbeater, State Government Solutions ManagerE-mail: [email protected]

Kim Burns, Federal Government Solutions ManagerE-mail: [email protected]