12.2 Interactive Crime GIS

There are also interactive maps that can map crimes by such parameters as location, time, and type. A GIS is an interactive mapping system that permits information layering to produce detailed descriptions of conditions and analyses of relationships among variables. A GIS is based on drawing different spatial distributions of data and overlaying them on one another to find interrelated points. Conditions, or filters, can be used on a GIS to refine searches at any level an analyst chooses. For example, the most obvious filter would isolate all crimes by specific type. However, filtering can isolate crimes by time of day, neighborhood, and MO. Conditions can be set to specify all the desired criteria, possibly resulting in the isolation of a cluster of incidents that could be linked to the same perpetrator.

Interactive mapping can also be set by the characteristics of victims, suspects, or both and is easily accomplished with the current generation of GIS software. Maps can be created, for example, to answer such questions as where have females been assaulted? Is there evidence that a cluster of burglaries has occurred at homes occupied by elderly females? Figure 12.3 is an example of a new type of Internet interactive GIS, which is accessible to anyone with a browser; it features an assortment of methods by which to view crimes in San Diego, California.

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Figure 12.3: San Diego interactive crime map.