Benefits of GIS Applications for Law Enforcement

Law Enforcement

Benefits of GIS Applications for Law Enforcement

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Police methods have changed dramatically around the world in recent years due to the advent of geo-positioning and improved computer-aided mapping techniques. As has happened throughout the history of policing, law enforcement officials have always tried to use new scientific research to their benefit. Since the object is the safety and comfort of local citizens, a major aspect of the mission for police departments is to always use the most up-to-date methods for the detection and apprehension of criminals. With the advent of computer-aided geographic information systems (GIS), police now have the ability to approach crime in an entirely new way.

According to Rich and Shively (2004) "geographical profiling was "born" in 1980 when a UK police investigator analyzed the locations of crime scenes of the Yorkshire Ripper and computed the "center of gravity" of the crime scenes…." This beginning has been debated by different people, but the fact is that GIS has been an aid to police for a number of years. One term that is used to explain the gamut of GIS methods is geographic profiling. Un attempting to give a comprehensive definition of the term Rich and Shively (2004) said that;

"Geographic profiling is a criminal investigative technique that attempts to provide information on the likely "base of operations" of offenders thought to be committing serial crimes…predictions are based on the locations of these crimes, other geographic information about the case and the suspect, and certain assumptions about the distance offenders will travel to commit crimes."

Since the data used to actually profile and locate offenders differs from system to system and department to department, it is simpler to use a less inclusive definition such as one that says that "geographic profiling…[is] a process used to attempt to discover the most probable area of residence of a serial offender" (Harries & LeBeau, 2007). Although this could also be said to be an error since the technique is now used to locate individuals who have committed individual crimes also, so cannot be said to be "serial offenders." Other definitions of various systems are useful, but since they apply to specific equipment and are not generally used in the paper, they will be given when a specific topic or system is introduced.

Different systems of GIS show significant advancements for police departments because they give information that was not easily obtainable prior to the advent of computers and GPS systems. However, there are issues, both in the legal realm and with types of software, that make further research and development a necessity. Determining how GIS was developed, what its relevant uses are, the differences and adequacies of the types used, and what problems they present are the focuses of this paper.

Developing GIS

GIS was not a singular endeavor that arose because computers were invented. The process of improved police methods has been one that spans centuries most likely, but modern police methods can be traced back to at least 1881. According to Soullier's Stages of Technological Advancement in Policing there have been four distinct eras in the this process. They are:

Stage 1 (1881-1945): mobile patrol, radio communications, telephone communications

Stage 2 (1946-1959): traffic violation detection instruments

Stage 3 (1960-1979): 911 systems, centralized dispatch, civilian specialists, research and development organizations, computer age begins

Stage 4 (1980-present): telecommunications advances, mobile data communications, expert systems, imaging biometrics, GIS (Grant & Terry, 2005)

This list shows a logical progression through both electronic means of criminal detection and improved ways to conduct police work. Every time there is a new type of invention, many industries try to determine how it can be used to improve production, and the police department is no exception. The reason for this is simple. The mission of law enforcement is critical to the founding principles of the Declaration of Independence, namely that citizens shall have life, liberty and be able to pursue happiness. Law enforcement also has to grow with the times because criminal enterprises will also use new technologies to their advantage.

Computers mainly gave police the ability to coalesce different types of data quickly. Because there are many layers to crime that cannot be easily determined, even by a police officer walking a beat (as happened in many areas early in the country's history), the police needed a tool that could take a large number of variables and look for correlations that would point to hotspots. GIS systems use the factors known to affect crime which are (in part):

"Population density and degree of urbanization

Racial heterogeneity

Variations in composition of the population

Stability of the population

Modes of transportation and the highway system

Economic conditions

Cultural factors

Family conditions

Climate

Effective strength of law enforcement agencies" (Johnson, 2000).

All of these factors can be loaded into a program to narrow down a larger area of operation for an individual or group committing crimes. These can also be used to track areas in which crime is more frequent than other areas of a given region. For example, "A recent analysis of rapists in the UK…showed a median distance between offender residence and the crime site as 2.4 km; a comparable finding for U.S. data was 5.1 km with an average closest distance of 2.7 km" (Harries & LeBeau, 2007). This technique was one important factor used to determine the area within which a specific rapist operated. This data allows for the more rapid apprehension of criminals.

GIS Types

Of course, there is not just one type of GIS in use. Law enforcement agencies have different needs and there are various type styles used for the computer software that are more appropriate depending on the law enforcement unit using it. These types range from complicated mapping systems which give departments multiple layers of data to simple location devices that can be purchased quite cheaply by smaller departments. Alexander, Groff and Hibdon (1997) looked at how an "off-the-shelf" GIS product could be modified to enhance its usability based on local expert knowledge and dynamic data exchange or the "communication among the various software products" used. By using a simple GIS program and data collected from experts in the field (such as professionals from a rape or gang unit) even a large police force can turn a simple program into a means of compiling complex data and providing pinpoint information.

More complex computer methods were developed that assisted officers to an even greater degree. Craglia, Haining and Wiles (2000) analyzed different new computer-aided GIS methods and found that while they both had good applications, they both also had limitations. These two methods were standards used by different police departments, and newer generations of the same software are still used by police departments currently.

The coalescing of the programs is called problem-oriented policing which "puts the results of crime mapping, applied geography and theoretical analysis into practice in the field. In addition to help investigate individual crimes, this work has supported law enforcement in field and special operations, staffing and deployment decisions, and event planning" (Wilson & Smith, 2008). By using GIS techniques along with other information that can be gathered, police are better able to position their forces. This, again adds to the security of the public.

Uses for GIS

No matter what type of GIS system is used by law enforcement, they all have to modify the hardware and software to the purposes of the particular mission. One example is Border Patrol agents along the border with Mexico who use "real-time sensor feeds from the Intelligent Computer-Aided Detection System (ICAD), and monitor hits corresponding to potential illegal migrant entry into the country" (Grant & Terry, 2005). The officers are able to use existing data along with that gathered every shift to pinpoint areas of concern. Since the border with Mexico would be difficult to monitor in its entirety, and would require more officers than is economically feasible, this method allows agents to focus on certain targets while developing others. Their system also allows them to track covered culverts and other known tunnels into the United States through which illegals might enter the U.S.

A secondary benefit has also been realized from the use of mapping technology. One strategic use of GIS is that "by identifying discrepancies between predicted and observed crime rates, time series analysis can help determine if an outside influence, such as a crime prevention program, may be influencing criminal activity" (Canter, 1990). These trends would be almost impossible to spot without the aid of GIS technology that can take a large variety of data points and variables and coalesce it. Police use this mapping technology so that they can plan both strategically and tactically. Some GIS efforts allow police to gather data that is gathered over the long-term and can be used to notice trends within a community. These strategic efforts are geared toward "long-range problems and projections of long-term increases or decreases in crime" (Johnson, 2000). This could show police changes in hotspot data that might otherwise go unnoticed and determine a new area to focus efforts on. Mapping for tactical purposes is more for immediate uses. This technique is defined as "An analytical process that provides information used to assist operations personnel (patrol and investigative officers) in identifying specific and immediate crime trends, patterns, series, sprees and hotspots, providing investigative leads and clearing cases" (Johnson, 2000). Tactical policing helps police map out the crimes an individual has committed over a short period of time and attempts to "place" the individual or group in a centralized location.

Geographic profiling is another use for GIS that closely mirrors tactical uses. It is a more immediate use for the technology that can assist agencies with "forecasting an offender's residence or next crime target based on history and patterns" (ESRI, 2007). This technique allows law again allows law enforcement to recognize trends and directly locate an individual based on the location of crimes and the places that the criminal frequents. It gives a probability based on past placement. This data can be fed into a GIS program that can then, using layering techniques, give the desired location. The trends are based on the already stated fact that offenders are won't to operate within a specific perimeter of comfort and are not likely to leave it. The layering takes information on the place of the crimes, the times they were committed, likely targets based on previous data, and pinpoints a more exact location with this data.

GPS information, which can be used in conjunction with GIS systems, is also used to assist in tracking known parole violators and sex offenders. Both types of offenders are known so it is easy for law enforcement to gain access to GPS trackers in phones or other electronic hardware to locate these offenders. The GIS systems have always given police a possible location of criminals or future criminal activity, but coupling GPS information with this has allowed police to pinpoint certain individuals who are known and not just suspects.

It is this multitudinous use ability that makes GIS systems so attractive to law enforcement agencies. They can "use GIS for crime analysis, criminal intelligence, community policing, vehicle/personnel tracking, traffic safety, community corrections, and many other areas" (ESRI, 2007). However, law enforcement agencies are not the only departments that can use GIS locally or nationally. ESRI, a manufacturer of different GIS systems, says, in its brochure, that "In emergency management and homeland security, GIS is used in planning, preparedness, mitigation, response, and incident management…" (2007). Natural disasters, such as the recent hurricane in the Northeast are prime spots for the use of GIS by both law enforcement and emergency preparedness. The police can use it to look for crime hotspots and other agencies can use the technology to concentrate efforts to help individuals who need aid. With the ability of the software to map out different emergencies, preparedness for multiple disaster scenarios is much easier.

Police are also tasked with monitoring their communities for the potential for crime. Recent studies have shown that deficiencies that seem innocuous are actually derivative of an increase in crime in an area. In the words of Filbert (2008), "situational crime prevention measure that address criminogenic characteristics (e.g., vacant lots, bad lighting) of a place may result in longer lasting efforts" (Filbert, 2008). Police can use GIS methods to map neighborhoods with an increasing incidence of broken windows, vacant lots, light poles that have missing or broken lanterns and other information to determine where increases in crime may occur. Research points to the use of "broken-window" policing as one of the reasons that major crime rates in New York City have decreased dramatically over the past two decades. This type of policing has been applied to general crime analysis, vehicle crime analysis, serial crime investigations, and gang activity" (Ratcliffe, 2004). It is not necessarily true that criminal activity will increase in areas where society itself seems to be broken down, but often it is these areas that allow police to focus to such a degree that they are able to conduct their jobs more proficiently.

Problems

Unfortunately, any new toy that agencies use is going to come with problems. These range from technological glitches in the software to problems associated with the civil liberties of offenders. Recently, several cases were brought before various courts which discussed the appropriateness of using drug sniffing dogs in certain instances. It was said that, in some cases, the search and seizure rights and privacy rights of citizens could be violated. It is possible that the same types of cases could be brought to trial regarding the use of mapping to determine whether criminals operate in a specific area or not. Grant and Terry (2005) specifically mention that "This technology brings with it new legal challenges, particularly with regard to the balance between crime control and the private interests of citizens." Legal challenges to new technology are nothing different from the norm though.

Apart from the legal considerations that must be ironed out, there are cautions that officers and others must use when they are putting GIS into practice. Sometimes these systems can become a shiny new toy which are misused by police. These "GIS cautions include: are the data reliable?; is the map trying to show too much?; will this map reveal information about individuals who may be subject to privacy restrictions?" (Grant & Terry, 2005)The first concern is that police will use the data provided by the computer system rather than their eyes to determine where crime is increasing. Law enforcement agencies have to realize that these systems are only as good as the data that is inputted into them. The next caution regards the amount of data because the system will be able to show many potential hotspots using simple data. It is not necessary to overload the system with data to determine specific areas of criminal activity or serial crime. GIS systems are designed to quickly determine hotspots or areas of potential origination with a modicum of data. The third caution is the most serious from a legal and also a protection standpoint. Individuals of a certain age and status (usually due to disability) are protected. Officers need to understand the limitations that have to be placed in their efforts and work with legal professionals to fine tune the instrument.