Application of GIS in Criminology and Defence IntelligenceM.R.RIFAS AHAMEDFACULTY OF GEOMATICSSABARAGAMUWA UNIVERSITY OF SRI LANKAarifas@stdgeo.sab.ac.lk/ mrrifas92@gmail.com

CriminologyCriminology is the scientific discipline that studies the phenomena of crime and delinquency.Criminology has links to other sciences like biology, sociology, psychology, policing and geography.As early as the beginning of the 19th century, criminologists became aware of spatial patterns in criminal behavior. By mapping crime rates, these studies provided a series of important findings.Initially, environmental criminology concentrated on the development of theories and models, but during the late 1980s and 1990s concepts from geographical information system were applied by both researchers and practitioners on a large scale. This presentation provides a brief description of the evolving and expanding application of GIS in criminology and Defense Intelligence.

2

Historical Overview of Crime Analysis Mapping

3

Applying GIS Technology to Crime AnalysisIdentifying and highlighting suspicious incidents and events that may require further investigation.Supporting pattern and trend analysis across multiple jurisdictions.Enhancing the implementation of various policing methodologies to reduce overall crime and disorder.Educating the public with visual information to clarify crime concerns and enlist community action.Providing tools and techniques to capture crime series and forecast future crime occurrences.

4

Why does GIS need for Crime Analysis?Every crime problem is related to some location.That may be address, street, ZIP Code, or district.GIS can help to leverage the locational aspect of data to analyze, understand, and build solutions to the facing problems.GIS principles improve critical decision making in a rapidly changing environment and have a direct impact on the safety of citizens.Whether the problem is tactical, strategic, or administrative, any data containing location information can be displayed and analyzed using geographic information system.

5

The role of “place” in crimeTwo key considerationsCrime has an inherent geographical qualityCrime is not randomly distributed

The four dimensions of crime Legal (a law must be broken) Victim (someone or something has to be targeted) Offender (someone has to do the crime) Spatial (it has to happen at a place - somewhere, in space and time)

6

GIS aids crime analysis

7

Processed outputs, used to decision making..

HOT SPOT

8

SPATIAL TREND EXCEPTIONAL REPORT

9

10

Phoenix Violence Impact Project studied the effects of directed law enforcement efforts by analyzing crime in a specific area.

Image indicates a crime hotspot from October 2002 to June 2003

Image showsthe same area one year later

Image on the right shows the status of crime two years later

11

Crime as elevation

In embedded image, high peaks denoting high rated crime spots

12

Five types of crime analysisIntelligence analysisCriminal investigative analysisTactical crime analysisStrategic crime analysisAdministrative crime analysis

13

Strategic Crime MappingLaw enforcement often suffers from limited resources. GIS can help efficiently and effectively match demands for service with service delivery.By knowing where problems are, it also provides a visual means to proactively combat crime and communicate with citizens to build support.

GIS can help to.. Understand events and dynamics in a neighborhood including persons, events, and crime hazards.Identify risk factors including businesses, buildings, or other locations that draw crime.Rapidly reconfigure beats and reallocate resources after analyzing crime trends over time.

14

Develop plans for special crime abatement teams to address regional or seasonal hot spot locations.

Capture repeat call-for-service locations to apply additional help and resources.

Crime density and hot spots are analyzed by the Lincoln Police Department,Lincoln, Nebraska

15

Tactical Crime Mapping GIS supports defense needs in tactical crime mapping by providing a platform for,Analyzing crime data to identify crime patterns and series.Linking modus operandi and suspect information to specific crime locations.Providing investigative leads by aggregating data from multiple sources. Forecasting potential crime locations through spatial tools and techniques.Supporting operations plans and clarifying ideal deployment locations. Clearing cases by linking suspects to specific crimes after arrest.Continuous active monitoring of high-risk and convicted sex offenders.

16

Criminal investigations Geographic profiling One of the biggest clues that an

offender leaves behind when they commit a crime is where the crime happened

Used to support an information management strategy for serial investigations

Identifying the probable address of serial offenders

17

GIS application using with Military purposesGIS is an increasingly important technology to the military.Spatial information has always been important to military commanders(an understanding of terrain, for example, is an essential military skill)Maps have been the principal mechanism for disseminating this knowledge and the ability to interpret a map the essence of understanding.The military is always seeking to improve capabilities in order to maintain a credible deterrent and increasingly to ensure efficient participation in peace-keeping missions.In the post-Cold War situation a key driver for international defense mapping agencies is their vastly increased area of interest.GIS have a key role to play in creating, editing, analyzing, querying, and displaying geographical data in order to help the commander understand the influence of terrain on the conduct of the battle.

18

19

20

21

Newspaper Article related to tackling crimes with GIS..Written byNimal LewkeFormerly Senior DIG/ Commandant/ STF

22

Latest Web Based development of GIS in Crime mapping..

FeaturesFreeAutomated data feedWorks with any RMS/CADEmail alertsunlimited historic dataHotspot mapsProximity searchData grid view of dataTemporal topology chartMetadata/data transparencyAccuracyAbility to upload data on any schedule

23

Crime Mapping web based tool (www.crimemapping.com)

24

Thank You…