Seminar in Police Administration: Technology in the Criminal Justice System

CRJU-C835-051

Summer 2002

INSTRUCTOR:  Brian Denzer

E-mail:  bdenzer@gcr1.com
Office:  Stallings 105
Office Phone: 865-2694
Dept. Phone:  865-3696
City College Phone:  865-3530
Off-Campus Phone:
Office Hours:  By appointment.  In addition, I will be available on campus before and after class, and during class
breaks.

COURSE MEETING TIME:  Tuesday – Saturday, May 28 – June 1, 1:00 – 5:00 PM

COURSE DESCRIPTION:  This course examines the application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in the field of crime mapping and crime analysis.  Basic principles of GIS will be presented, including how spatial data is used to produce pin maps, perform analysis, and support decision-makers. The emphasis will be on hands-on training, with students gaining practice in the utilization of Microsoft Access databases and Arcview GIS.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:Upon completion of this course,students will have gained a solid foundation in basic GIS operations, the creation and editing of feature data, and the display and analysis of crime incident data and offender records. Additionally, students will have acquired a hands-on understanding of how to produce maps and reports for administrators, detectives, and patrol officers.

REQUIRED COURSE TEXTS:

Miller Reuland, M., ed. (1997).  Information Management and Crime Analysis: Practitioners’ Recipes for Success.  Washington, D.C.: Police Executive Research Forum (PERF).

Harries, K.  (1999)  Mapping Crime: Principle and Practice.  Washington, DC:  U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice.  NCJ 178919. Available on-line at the link above; Also available through the Department of Criminal Justice office at cost (the price per copy it cost us to have them printed)

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

Grading will consist of -

1)  In-class mapping project = 40%
        a.)  map (20%)
        b.)  narrative (20%)
 2)  Class participation = 10%
 3)  Research paper = 50%

GRADING SCALE

A  : 95-UP
B+: 90-94
B : 85-89
C+ : 80-84
C  : 75-79
D+: 70-74
D  : 64-69
F  : 63 - BELOW

CLASS PARTICIPATION (10%):  Attendance is mandatory.  Completion of all lab exercises is essential in order for students to obtain a complete grasp of how to use the technology.

IN-CLASS PROJECT (40%):  This project will consist of two parts -

        1) map (20%)
        2) narrative (20%)

Each student will be assigned a unique data set which they will be asked to geocode, categorize, symbolize, and display in a manner they choose, with consideration given to the intended audience viewing the maps, simplicity of interpretation without lacking in content, and with a particular objective in mind. Each student will use the resulting map (and report if created) to develop a narrative explaining the crime trends seen, any identifiable spatial or temporal patterns, and a plan for action.  The narrative portion (not including any accompanying charts or tables) should not be less than one page (or 250 words), single-spaced (12 point font or less) and the total report including maps, charts, and tables should not exceed 5 pages total.  In grading the final project, attention will be focused on the execution of basic GIS operations, including geocoding, appropriate map scale choice, incorporation of basemap data, meaningful symbolization of data, and use of basic map elements.  In grading the narrative, attention will be focused on meaningful interpretation of the data displayed in the map.  Students are encouraged to try to identify spatial or temporal patterns, and/or identify changes in rates of events over time and space.

RESEARCH PAPER (50%):  To be determined at a later date.

COURSE OUTLINE:

    DAY 1: Overview

        1) An overview of Geographic Information Systems and crime mapping – historical development, uses, trends, case studies,resources—slide
            presentation.

        * DISCUSSION *:  Some questions that the GIS Analyst might ask to try to obtain from data with a geographic component (ask the students):

Where is crime happening? (hot spots)
Where has crime gone up/gone down? (spatial change over time)
Where will a particular type of crime likely occur in the future—can resources be allocated to prevent this from occurring? e.g., socio-economic dataon poverty rates, jobless rates, homeless rates, drug activity, family abuse, single-parent households, streetlighting, proximity to commercial areas/public transportation/high traffic areas.

        Basic crime mapping applications:

Identify problems
Analyze problems
Assess strategies
Detect patterns
Find correlations between suspect and crime
Geographic profiling
Forecasting crime

        * LAB *: Hands-on basic introduction to the Arcview GUI using crime maps.

        2) GIS Essentials

Raster vs. vector data
The world is not flat; it isn’t even round.
Distortions caused by projection systems.

        * DEMO *: Coordinate systems and planar projections.

Further introduction to the (Arcview) GUI.

        * LAB *: Adding sample data to Arcview--how are direction, distance, shape distorted by different projections.

    DAY 2: Data, Databases, Data Systems

What is data? Bits, bytes, ASCII, ANSII, UNICODE; computer languages and programming.
File formats: delimited text, fixed width text, DBF
Data types: Text, integer, variant, etc.
Structured Query Language (SQL queries)
Introduction to the (MS Access) GUI

        * LAB *: SQL practice

Introduction to querying in Arcview using the query builder
Converting query results to shape files
Shape file data storage and management.

        * LAB *: Querying for data in Arcview

    DAY 3: Getting Your Data onto a Map

Importing data into a database
Database data storage and management: uniqueness, relationships
Database connectivity and ODBC

        * LAB *: Getting your data out of a database and into Arcview.

Importing data into a GIS application—Tiger files
Geocoding
Data storage and management

        * LAB *: Downloading and processing Tiger street files; geocoding raw data and saving the results.

    DAY 4: Common GIS Operations (& Spatial Problems)

        1) Types of maps

Categorizing and symbolizing
Point data (pin maps)
Area/choropleth maps
Isoline maps—e.g., weather, topographic maps
Raster maps and raster analysis—e.g., remote sensing (land cover), directly measured data (soil types)
density surfaces, elevation
Counting
Calculating rates
Measuring area
Measuring inclusion/overlap
Measuring distance (Euclidean, Manhattan)
Problems of spatial (and temporal) correlation
(Closer places are more alike than distant places)
• Boundary problem (for point patterns; for areal patterns)
• Scale problem (effects of areal aggregation)
• Problem of modifiable units
• Problem of pattern

        * LAB *: Practice creating choropleth maps and joining data (2000 US Census)

        2) Types of GIS operations

Simple classification and representation
Finding features near other features
Finding features inside other features
Finding features that intersect other features
Aggregating features:
Spatial join (e.g., points that fall inside a polygon)
Attribute joins (merging features having the same attribute)
Density

        * LAB *: Manually creating/editing your data—create a district boundary map; and calculate summary crime statistics for a district; find  known
                        offenders within a distance of crime incidents, schools, etc.

    DAY 5: Crime Analysis, Basic Map Making, & Reports

        1) Review of basic uses of GIS in law enforcement

Accountability—COMSTAT
Resource allocation
Predicting neighborhood change (development, disorganization, shifting hot spots, demographic surveys)
Analysis (geographic profiling, pattern analysis, correlations to known possible offenders)

        2) Basic map elements

Title
Legend
Scale bar
North orientation
Date
Sources/notes
Neatlines

        3) Reports

In MS Access—wizard assisted
A sample crime analysis report and suggestion for action

        4) Internet sources for technical assistance, data, further research, grant opportunities, and sharing of information

        * LAB *: Create a layout including major map elements