Crime mapping is used in the process of enforcing law and agencies by analysts, in carrying out analysis of crime incidents and patterns. Primarily, criminal mapping is essential in the enhancement of requirements and capabilities through advancement in technology and the use of software of crime mapping. Therefore, crime mapping is a computer-based software, which enhances the keeping of records and tracks the types of crimes happening in jurisdictions, as well as the time crime happening, data, and geographical locations. The system is very accurate in displaying reported crime incidents raw data within a specified area. Therefore this paper will focus and outline how the concept of mapping fits in crime and criminology control.
American policing has established important and innovations in the environmental background of curbing criminology and crime at large through developing a crime mapping model. Computer technology advancement and (GIS) Geographical Information Systems have come to existence with theoretical and practical innovations in the analysis, investigation, and prevention of crime (Spicer et al., 2016). Primarily, the demanded changes fit in crime control, where the problem-oriented policing enquires the departments to integrate a local topographical focus in emphasizing the importance of distributing the mapping crime techniques to departmental analysis and enforcement practices. In recognition of the importance of mapping to policing, a foundation was created in 1997 to provide practical assistance upon ways to reduce crime and criminology, through establishing and maintaining continuous contact with COPS grantees, and providing support in the form of GIS, while assisting the COPS in tracking and developing computer maps.
Crime mapping has enabled the presence of maps that depicts the geographical features of community streets. The plans have been of help in curbing crime late as the police utilize the maps in identifying the places to carry out patrols and attaining specific addresses. Moreover, a GIS same as Crime Mapping is being used by the police in identifying, modifying, and visualizing the temperate of data collection (Jefferson 2018). The data collected clarify where various types of crimes happen and occur by facilitating statistical and visual analysis of the nature of the crime and events occurrence. Primarily, crime mapping involves multiple different patterns of study, including tactical crime analysis, which mainly focuses on identifying crime patterns such as residential and commercial burglary.
The long term application is put into place through strategic crime analysis, which reduces the occurrence of crimes. Primarily, the study provided between the relationship of criminal activity and disorders indicator helps in temporary installation and disbursement of police patrol to the places analyzed and found with frequent instances of crimes. Moreover, crime mapping helps in cultivating information on the number of residents associated with residential burglaries per household. Additionally, administrative crime analysis is also valuable in the mapping of crime, since media survey and researchers convey criminal information to the public. Thus posting maps showing the proposed and critical areas of crime occurrence, and sending police agencies, and available information accessible by the surrounding citizens through their computers.
Primarily, crime opportunities are neither organized randomly nor uniformly, in time and space. Therefore crime mappers work upon the spatial patterns and advanced tools in fighting and reducing crime based on hot spot policing (Zahra 2018). Researchers and mappers have figured out that hot spot policing minimizes the rate of crime occurrence in both the surrounding areas and hot spots. Moreover, NIJ (National Institute of Justice) shows that the drop in crime rate may occur in small hotspots without causing a rise in crime to other surrounding areas. Furthermore, the occurrence of evil does not happen evenly on the landscape. Instead, it is handled in minor regions that account for uneven disorder and the amount of crime. Therefore, offenses tend to occur at certain times and areas, especially when the streets are vacant, between 3:00 AM-7:00 AM. Thus hot-spotting police programs developed by NIJ and Crime Mapping may reduce the issue of the crime rate substantially.
Currently, the majority of police services are trying as much as possible to eliminate and suppress the level of criminal activity, and public perception concerning crime victimization through attaining and acquiring data on how to reduce public fear of built crime within their mission statements. Thus, showing worries on violent crimes. Therefore, a growing trend in North America is the publication of crimes on the internet to reduce the fears and concerns of crime occurrence among the members of the public. Various numbers of the web have led to enabling viewing of the spatial distribution of crime observation within American cities (Smith et al., 2018). They are bringing an alternative and substantial purposes, in an interactive format. Furthermore, the use of GIS in mapping crime broadly expanded the field of how to reduce crime and criminology among the people and in the State. However, despite all the progress in curbing offenses by use of crime mapping, the public has the right to attain information concerning local crimes, with developed techniques in helping the mappers to aggregate the spatial data for the protection of data on the addresses of victims of crimes.
Conclusion
Crime mapping has developed a wide conceptual in reducing the rate of crime occurrence, bringing back security assurance confidence among the citizens. Precisely, the introduction and utilization of NIJ, GSI, and hot spot policing have played a significant role in enhancing the techniques and services rendered by crime mapping.
Reference
Jefferson, B. J. (2018). Predictable policing: Predictive crime mapping and geographies of policing and race. Annals of the American Association of Geographers, 108(1), 1-16.
Smith, J. J., Santos, R. B., & Santos, R. G. (2018). Evidence-based policing and the stratified integration of crime analysis in police agencies: National survey results. Policing: a journal of policy and practice, 12(3), 303-315.
Spicer, V., Song, J., Brantingham, P., Park, A., & Andresen, M. A. (2016). Street profile analysis: A new method for mapping crime on major roadways. Applied Geography, 69, 65-74.
Zahra, S. A. (2018). Crime Mapping in GIS By Using Hotspot. Sukkur IBA Journal of Computing and Mathematical Sciences, 2(1), 13-19.