Crime tracking
GIS mapping technology is the latest weapon in fighting crime
Archived article from Feb 16, 2001
By Irene O'Brien
The days when police officers tracked crime waves with colored pushpins stuck into street maps may soon be a thing of the past. New applications of a technology called Geographic Information Systems (GIS) allow criminologists to map a host of factors related to criminal activity right on the computer screen, says Leslie Kennedy, dean of the School of Criminal Justice on the Newark campus.
Kennedy is heading a Crime Mapping Project designed to put Rutgers-Newark in the forefront of crime pattern analysis. "It seems obvious that crimes occur where opportunities exist," Kennedy says. "But it is far more complex than that. In fact, there are many layers of factors which may be contributing to different crime patterns. We are using GIS software applications, which can map the multiple layers of crime reporting, to understand why certain patterns exist."
With GIS, crime statistics can be put into a database and then transposed onto a geographic map. Kennedy's project, which is receiving support from the Joseph C. Cornwall Center for Metropolitan Studies, is currently entering data about specific types of crime drawn from police records in Newark as well as other cities in New Jersey.
"The danger of mapping crime is that it is very easy to make incorrect correlations between crimes that occur and specific variables," Kennedy notes. "With GIS, we are creating models to understand where and when crime happens. We are not personalizing these patterns by looking at the individuals who may be involved. Rather, we are looking closely at the connection between behavior patterns, physical environment and other factors such as time."
Kennedy is working with Erika Poulsen, a graduate student who is pursuing a Ph.D. in geography on the New Brunswick campus. "The benefit of this new technology is that we can track variables and tie them together quickly," Poulsen explains. "What once took three years can now take two weeks or less."
This semester, Kennedy and Poulsen are team-teaching a class in crime mapping for graduate students at the School of Criminal Justice. Kennedy is also developing a crime mapping laboratory, which will allow undergraduate and graduate students to contribute to ongoing research for the Crime Mapping Project.
Among the project's first undertakings is analyzing car theft in Newark. "We are breaking it down by specific zones, and among the statistical factors that we are including in our analysis is the exact location of the theft, the time of day that the vehicle was reported missing, the type of vehicle taken, and where and whether it was found," Kennedy says.
He points out that in neighborhoods such as the one surrounding Penn Station, commuters often park their cars in lots or on streets for long periods of time, so there is no sure way of knowing exactly when the car was stolen.
Timing, however, is critical to understanding where patterns really exist, he says. For example, in the Ironbound, a car that disappears in midafternoon could fit into one pattern, while a car that disappears in early evening--parked by someone visiting one of the Ironbound's many restaurants--could be part of a completely different pattern.
"These data have applications that have a direct impact on communities," Kennedy says. "In Newark, we've already conducted seminars with the police department to share our initial findings on auto-theft patterns. While the rate of car theft has significantly decreased within the city, as with all cities, there are several hot spots where theft occurs more frequently. While the police already knew where these hot spots were, they did not have an understanding of all of the environmental factors which may be contributing to some of these patterns. In analyzing the data, we attempt to provide a visual picture of what is happening."
Working with the Cornwall Center, the Crime Mapping Project is also analyzing how shifts in urban development are tied to shifts in crime patterns. "There is tremendous interdisciplinary potential for this project here on campus and within the university," Kennedy says. "In addition to conducting research for the Cornwall Center, we are currently exploring ways in which we can work with other programs, such as the Law School, to benefit some of the ongoing research now under way on topics such as hate crime patterns."
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