Law Enforcement Analysis

[Jedburgh]

For those with an interest:

The Crime Mapping & Analysis Program (CMAP) is proud to announce the release of the Crime Analysis Unit Developer's Kit. The CAU Developer's Kit is a unique collection of documents, tools, and examples to assist in the design, creation, implementation, and expansion of any crime analysis unit. This assembly of information, examples, and software utilities is provided as a free public service by CMAP, a program of the US Department of Justice.

The Developer's Kit includes a variety of important articles and publications on analytical processes, procedures, and methods from acknowledged experts in the field. It also includes numerous examples of crime bulletins, routine products, work analysis, flowcharts, timelines, job descriptions, mission statements, internship announcements, statistics, and other materials that can be used as templates or starting points.

The CAU Developer's Kit contains numerous free software applications, including:

* Two GIS programs - A complete, self-contained desktop Geographic Information Systems.

* Two Geographic Profiling utilities - Dragnet-K, the stand-alone original GP software from the University of Liverpool, and Ian Oldfield's GP Spreadsheet for Excel.

* The Crime Analysis Spatial Extension - Tactical crime analysis tools for ArcGIS similar to the USGS Animal Movements Extension for ArcView.

* Two Link-charting programs - Network, organizational, flow, and linkage diagram design software utilities with analytical functions.

* Six Statistics programs - Complete and robust statistics as powerful as any expensive application.

* OpenOffice - A complete office program suite that includes a word processor, spreadsheet/grapher, relational database, presentation/slideshow, diagram tool, and mathematical modeling utility.

All software is provided free of charge by CMAP and the developers for use by the US law enforcement community.

Altogether, more than 100 files have been selected and packaged for this inaugural release of the Crime Analysis Unit Developer's Kit, a product of CMAP, the Crime Mapping & Analysis Program. Be warned, this is a very large download because it contains so much material - a smaller download, without software files, is also available for low-bandwidth users.

Please visit http://www.crimeanalysts.net and click on the Resources tab to download and install your copy of these useful tools and documents, or write to cmap@crimeanalysts.net to find out more.

[sgmgrumpy]

Mapping Crime: Understanding Hot Spots http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/209393.pdf

Much of crime mapping is devoted to detecting high-crime-density areas known as hot spots. Hot spot analysis helps police identify high-crime areas, types of crime being committed, and the best way to respond.
This report discusses hot spot analysis techniques and software and identifies when to use each one. The visual display of a crime pattern on a map should be consistent with the type of hot spot and possible police action. For example, when hot spots are at specific addresses, a dot map is more appropriate than an area map, which would be too imprecise.
In this report, chapters progress in sophistication.

Contents

Chapter 1. Crime Hot Spots: What They Are, Why We Have Them, and How to Map Them

Chapter 2. Methods and Techniques for Understanding Crime Hot Spots

Chapter 3. Spatial Analysis Tools for Identifying Hot Spots

The report can be used as a companion to another crime mapping report published by the National Institute of Justice in 1999, Crime Mapping: Principle and Practice, by Keith Harries.

■
Identifying hot spots requires multiple techniques; no single method is sufficient
to analyze all types of crime.
■
Current mapping technologies have significantly
improved the ability of crime analysts and researchers to understand crime patterns and victimization.
■
Crime hot spot maps can most effectively
guide police action when production of the maps is guided by crime theories (place, victim, street, or neighborhood).

[Jedburgh]

FYI - as GIS applications mature, I'm sure we will begin to see more of this open to the public (at least domestically):

The Chicago Police Department developed this web application to provide residents of the City of Chicago with a tool to assist them in problem-solving and combating crime and disorder in their neighborhoods. It is based upon the CLEAR (Citizen Law Enforcement Analysis and Reporting) system developed by the Department for use by its police officers.

This web application enables you to search the Chicago Police Department's database of reported crime. You will be able to see maps, graphs, and tables of reported crime. The database contains 90 days of information which you can access in blocks of up to 14 days. Data is refreshed daily. However, the most recent information is back-dated 7 days from today's date.

The site can be accessed at http://gis.chicagopolice.org

All feedback is welcomed through email or blog links.

[Jedburgh]

Published by JMIC in Mar 06, but I finally just got around to looking it over:

Out of Bounds: Innovation and Change in Law Enforcement Intelligence

Deborah Osborne’s Out of Bounds: Innovation and Change in Law Enforcement Intelligence Analysis addresses the changing nature and role of analysis in policing. Osborne’s examination, though, focuses not only on the analytical process, but on the analysts—critical actors who function with relative anonymity.

Osborne employs a provocative method of study: appreciative inquiry. In essence, analysts tell their stories: what motivates them, what successes they have enjoyed, what processes have worked well for them, how they see the future. A picture emerges of women and men who have great passion for their work, and who make tremendous contributions to solving crimes, interrupting crime patterns, apprehending criminals, and even preventing crime. By studying what works, the appreciative inquiry process draws out the themes that characterize these successes: innovative thinking; creative problem solving; intraagency teamwork; collaboration and information sharing among agencies....

The link is to the pdf, but the book is available through both the GPO and Amazon.

[sgmgrumpy]

This is an excellent on-line learning center for LEOs

Problem-oriented policing is an approach to policing in which discrete pieces of police business (each consisting of a cluster of similar incidents, whether crime or acts of disorder, that the police are expected to handle) are subject to microscopic examination (drawing on the especially honed skills of crime analysts and the accumulated experience of operating field personnel) in hopes that what is freshly learned about each problem will lead to discovering a new and more effective strategy for dealing with it. Problem-oriented policing places a high value on new responses that are preventive in nature, that are not dependent on the use of the criminal justice system, and that engage other public agencies, the community and the private sector when their involvement has the potential for significantly contributing to the reduction of the problem. Problem-oriented policing carries a commitment to implementing the new strategy, rigorously evaluating its effectiveness, and, subsequently, reporting the results in ways that will benefit other police agencies and that will ultimately contribute to building a body of knowledge that supports the further professionalization of the police.
-Herman Goldstein 2001

CENTER FOR PROBLEM-ORIENETED POLICING

http://www.popcenter.org/default.cfm

[Jedburgh]

IACA has updated their certification program and released a new study guide:

IACA Certification Exam Study Guide

This study guide is to be used as a supplement to materials used in preparing for the IACA Certification Exam. It is not meant to be the sole study tool for the exam. Questions on the exam may be worded differently than concepts provided in this study guide. This study guide is not all-inclusive and only provides general concepts that are covered on the exam. This study guide should also be used in combination with other references in addition to IACA’s Exploring Crime Analysis book.

FYI, the IACA certification currently isn't very widespread. According to the organization, there are just ten Certified Law Enforcement Analysts in the US and three in Canada - with another two waiting to take the exam by the end of this year......

[Jedburgh]

A free version of geographic profiling software, developed through a grant from the NIJ. The linked website includes the software download, tutorial, source code and other resources: Profiler