GIS Applications and Benefits for Law Enforcement

Introduction

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), geographic 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 those crime scenes. This beginning has been debated by different scholars, but the fact is that GIS has been an aid to police for a number of years. One term used to describe the full range of GIS methods is geographic profiling. In attempting to give a comprehensive definition of the term, Rich and Shively (2004) stated 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 describes geographic profiling as "a process used to attempt to discover the most probable area of residence of a serial offender" (Harries & LeBeau, 2007). Although this definition could also be considered an oversimplification, since the technique is now used to locate individuals who have committed individual crimes as well and so cannot be said to apply only to "serial offenders." Other definitions of various systems are useful, but since they apply to specific equipment not generally discussed throughout the paper, they will be introduced when a specific topic or system is addressed.

Different systems of GIS represent significant advancements for police departments because they provide 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 central focuses of this paper.

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