CRIME MAPPING
A GIS is different from manual pin maps and computer
1. Manual Pin Mapping
Wall maps have long been a simple and useful way to depict crime
incidents In hot spots. Many police departments still have large maps
tacked to the wall of the briefing room with the most recent crimes
represented by pins. Although useful, manual wall maps, offer limited
utility because they are difficult to keep updated, keep accurate, make
easy to read, and can only display a limited amount of data. For example,
although different colored pins could be used to represent different types
of crime, the date and time of incidents, the nature of incidents, and
other information cannot be displayed easily. In order to update a manual
wall map, for example, the pins must be removed each month. Unless a
photo or some other mechanism is used to record the previous month's
map, the information illustrated on the map is lost. Thus, the comparison
is difficult, if not impossible, from one month to the next. Finally, the
maps become unreadable when they display large amounts of data
because of the numerous pins and/or holes (Boba, 2001, p. 18).
2. Computer Mapping
A computer map is similar to a wall map, in that the computer is used to
place a point at a specific location just as a person would put a pin on a
wall map. Thus, computer maps have limitations similar to wall maps.
While visually appealing and easy to use, computer mapping does not
allow any more effective analysis than manual pin mapping (Boba,2001, P.
19)
3. Geographic Information System (GIS)
A GIS is a powerful software tool that allows the user to create anything
from a simple point map to a three-dimensional visualization of spatial or
temporal data.
maps in that it allows the analyst to view data behind the geographic
features, combine various features, manipulate the data and maps, and
perform statistical functions (Boba, 2001, p. 19)
4. Crime Analysis Mapping
It is the process of using a geographic information system in combination
with crime analysis techniques to focus on the spatial context of criminal
and other law enforcement activity (Boba, 2001, p, 20). In this report, the
term crime analysis mapping is used to describe this process because
using a GIS to analyze crime is not just the act of placing incidents on a
map but also of analysis.
History of Crime Mapping ~The first instance of crime mapping is in
1829, Adriano Balbi andindré Michel Guerry produced maps showing the
relationships between "educational level and violent and property crime
in France (Dent; 2000). The production of maps that showed rates of male
incarceration and duty crime started in 1849 by Joseph Fletcher, and in
1861 by Henry Mayhew (Chamard, 2006).
In the early 20th century, Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay mapped
thousands of incidents of juvenile delinquency and analyzed the
relationships between delinquency and various social conditions in the
United States (Shaw and McKay, 1942).
They found that the zone adjacent to the central business district,
the zone of transition, Perpetually suffered from the highest rates of
juvenile delinquency and other social problems regardless of the specific
ethnic group occupying the zone at the time.
~In the 1950s, Jane Jacobs introduced constructs that are still
used in today's place-based research, such as eyes on the street and social
capital®, Although Jacobs did not attempt to forecast crime, her work to
later research positing that crime has spatial patterns and thus should be
able to be forecast. Criminologists began to emphasize the importance of
place in the 1970s. Lawrence Cohen and Marcus Felson routine activities
theory (RAT)* described how routine activities affect crime (Cohen and
Felson, 1979). Cohen and Felson argued that due to, the consistency in
our routines, we should be able to forecast crime; the spatial and
temporal structure of routine legal activities should play an important role
in determining the location, type, and quantity of illegal acts occurring in
a given community or society (Cohen and Felson, 1979).
~The late 1960s and early 1970s were critical for the
development, of crime mapping. In 1966, the Harvard Lab for Computer
Graphics, and Spatial Analysis developed SYMAP* or the Synagraphic
Mapping, System, one of the first widely distributed computerized
mapping software programs. Then, in 1969, the Environmental Science
and Research Institute was founded and became one of the top
distributors, of GIS software, including the current ArcView and ArcGIS
software, packages. Also around this time, the U.S. Census Bureau began
the ambitious Geographic Base Files and Dual Independent Map Encoding
(iBF-DIME) project, which was used to create digitized street maps for1]
cities in the United States during the 1970 census (support esri.com.
2022). These advances were necessary for the development of programs
used in crime mapping
~During the 19808, the National Institute of Justice (NLI) funded
evaluations of place-based policing strategies, including the research
Sherman and colleagues as well as similar research in Chicago. NIJ also
began funding the development of technologies that were later
incorporated into crime-mapping software (Hunt, 2019). In 1997, NIJ
established the Crime Mapping Research Centers, which surveyed law
enforcement departments to determine how they used analytic
mapping(Harries, 1999). In 2016, N1J released the Real-Time Crime
Forecasting Challenge, which asked competitors to forecast where the
crime was likely to cluster in the future within the jurisdiction of the
Portland (Oregon)Police Bureau (Hunt, 2019).
CRIME MAPPIN IN THE PHILIPPINES
In 2012, the PNP Cordillera developed a GIS-based tool for more
accurate crime analysis and internal security operation. The E-Blotter and
Mobile Tracking System of Patrol Vehicles" in the region are also
incorporated in the GIS project to further improve the police's response
time on any incident. With the help of this new system, local patrol
vehicles can be monitored for easier dispatch in any incident, accident, or
disaster-hit areas (Geospatial World, 2012).
The Police Regional Office Cordillera Web-based Crime Mapping
Allows the general public and the community to view up-to-date crime
incidents within the region. It’s their belief that providing this information
to the public will help in reducing the crimes in the region. knowing where
and when crimes happen allows the public to avoid being a victim by
taking precautions when passing through those locations or taking
alternative routes (Police Regional Office Cordillera, 2012).
In 2016, as part of the 12 Key Result Areas of the PNP Patrol Plan
2030 which is Information Technology; the PNP aims to develop and
implement a PNP Integrated Crime Management Information System, or
CMIS, The system will be designed to work as part of the broader, criminal
justice information system architecture, The PNP CMIS will operate at the
police station level providing transaction processing modules that will
feed into a crime database, tracking, and monitoring system that will
enable crime mapping and analysis at the station and higher geographical
levels (PNP, 2016).
 Theories of crime and place understand crime in a physical or
spatial environment. They explain crime patterns by the location of
targets, offenders’ choice of travel routes, use of space for various
activities, and the innate ability of a place or target to defend itself (what-
when-how. om, n.d.). Theories of crime and place can be described as
belonging together under the umbrella of what is called environmental
criminology (Brantingham and Brantingham, 1981).
Level of Theories of Crime
 Macro-Level
Theories of crime and place at this level of spatial aggregation
explain crime patterns across larger areas. examples of macro-level crime
and place theories include routine activity theory, crime pattern theory.
 Meso-Level
Explanations of crime at the meso-level explain crime at an
intermediate level of spatial aggregation. Examples of crime and place
theories at the meso-level include territorial functioning, and collective
efficacy.
 Micro-Level
Theories at the micro-level focus on explanations of crime at the
individual level or at the actual location of the crime. An example of these
theories is rational choice theory.
Environmental Criminology Environmental criminology is the study of
crime as it occurs within a geographical area, and it's a positivist theory
that suggests crime is influenced, if not caused, by a person's spatial
environment. The basis is specifically how individuals, with all their
diverse attributes, become influenced to commit crimes by the elements
in their immediate location Environmental Criminology: Definition, Theory
& Crime Analysis,2021). Environmental criminologists look for crime
patterns and seek to explain them in terms of environmental influences.
From these explanations, they derive rules that enable predictions to be
made about merging crime problems, and that ultimately inform the
development of strategies that might be employed to prevent crime
(Wortley and Mazerolle, 2013, p.1).
Rational Choice Theory
Rational choice theory, also called rational action theory or choice
theory, is a school of thought based on the assumption that individuals
choose a course of action that is most in line with their personal
preferences (Amadae, 2021). It posits that people calculate the costs and
benefits of choices in making decisions. The perceived costs risks, and
benefits of certain actions can be dependent on one’s personal
preferences (Nickerson, 2021).
Routine Activity Theory
Developed by Marcus Felson and Lawrence E. Cohen (1979),
routine activities theory requires three elements be present for a crime to
occur,1) a motivated offender with criminal intentions and the ability to
act on these inclinations, 2) a suitable victim or target, and 3) the absence
of a capable guardian who can prevent the crime from happening. The
three elements must converge in time and space for a crime to occur.
Routine activities theory relates the pattern of offending to the
everyday patterns of social interaction. Crime is therefore normal and is
dependent on available opportunities to offend. If there is an unprotected
target and there are sufficient rewards, a motivated offender will commit
a crime, It is an approach in criminology that examines the ways in which
the everyday behavior of individuals exposes them to more or less risk of
being a victim. The exploration of such routine activities allows the
criminologist to identify ‘hot spots’ where criminal activity is likely to be
concentrated (Nickerson, 2022).
Crime Pattern Theory
Crime pattern theory posits that criminal events are most likely to
occur in areas where the activity space of offenders overlaps with the
activity space of the potential victim/targets (Boba, 2005. p.62). It’s on
siders how people's everyday activities influence their awareness spaces
and, in the case of offenders, how this influences their spatial decision-
making when it comes to offending.
As a consequence of engaging in routine activities, people either
offenders or otherwise, are believed to form mental maps to represent
the routine activity nodes they frequent the pathways they must travel to
move from one activity node to another, and the areas that surround
them. Some routine activity nodes will be shared by many people and
hence encapsulated in their awareness spaces, but others will be more
unique to particular individuals. It is where offender awareness spaces
overlap with suitable opportunities for crime that they are most expected
to engage in crime. And, it is where the activity spaces of many offenders
overlap that hotspots of crime are most likely to form (Johnson, 2014).
Territorial Functioning
Territorial functioning is a perspective within environmental
criminology that links the presence of fear of crime to the amount of
time. From this perspective, the occurrence of crime and fear of crime is
associated with three particular elements (Taylor, 1988):
1. Attitude of residents (responsibility and perceptions of control);
2. Behaviors (responding to intrusions or potential intrusions and
exercising control over activities in the territory); and
3. Markers (signs and embellishments).
It revolves around protecting space and defending it against
intrusion. It is based on the notion that residents are likely to protect
places that belong to them, and over which they have some means of
control (Taylor, Gottfredson, and Brower, 1984).
Collective Efficacy
Collective efficacy is the process of activating or converting
socialites among neighborhood residents in order to achieve collective,
goals, such as public order or the control of crime (Sampson, 2006). It is
represented as a combined measure of shared expectations for social
control and social cohesion and trust among neighborhood
residents(Cullen, and Wilcox, 2010). Collective efficacy describes what
residents are willing to do to improve their neighborhoods. Although
social cohesion is the foundation of collective efficacy, at the core of
collective, efficacies are the willingness to intervene and the capacity for-
informal; social control. In neighborhoods with collective efficacy,
neighbors agree, on what is acceptable behavior and reinforce it in each
other (Higginsand Hunt, 2016).
Geographic Information System
Geographic Information System (GIS) is a system that creates,
manages, analyzes, and maps all types of data. GIS connects data to a
map, integrating location data (where things are) with all types of
descriptive information (what things are like there) (ESRI, n.d.). It is a
computer system that analyzes and displays geographically referenced
information It uses data that is attached to a unique location (USGS n.d.).
Types of GIS Data
A geodatabase is a database composed of spatial data and
attribute data (Dempsey, 2021). Spatial data is any type of data that
directly or indirectly references a specific geographical area or location
(Zola and Fontecchio, n.d). Data quality is the degree of data excellency
that satisfies the given objective, In other words, completeness of
attributes in order to achieve the given task can be termed as Data
Quality/Data quality is a pillar in any GIS implementation and application
as reliable data are indispensable to allow the user obtaining meaningful
resultsempsey, 2008). Spatial Data quality can be categorized into:
 Data Completeness- It is basically the measure of the totality of
features. A data set with a minimal amount of missing features
can be termed as Complete-Data.
 Data Precision- It is the degree of details that are displayed on a
uniform space.
 Data Accuracy- It is the discrepancy between the actual attributes
value and coded attribute value.
 Data Consistency-It is the absence of conflicts in a particular
database.
Attribute data is information appended in tabular format to
spatial features. The spatial data is the where and attribute data
can contain information about the what, where, and why.
Attribute data provides characteristics of spatial data
(Dempsey,2013). The main difference between attribute data and
spatial data is that attribute data describes the characteristics of a
geographical feature while spatial data describes the absolute and
relative location of geographic features.
1. VECTOR DATA- It is composed of individual points
stored as coordinate pairs that indicate a physical location in the
world, It is extremely useful for storing and representing data that
has discrete boundaries, such as borders or building footprints,
streets, and other transport links, and location points (Romeijn,
n.d.). There are three types of vector Data, namely:
+ POINT DATA (FEATURE) - It is commonly used to represent
nonadjacent features and to represent discrete data points. Points
have zero dimensions, therefore you can measure neither length
or area with this dataset. Examples would be schools, points of
interest, and in the example below, bridge and culvert locations.
Point features are also used to represent abstract points. For
instance, point locations could represent city locations or place
names (Dempsey, 2021),
TYPES OF SPACIAL DATA
+ LINE (OR ARC) DATA (FEATURE)- It is used to represent linear
features. Common examples would be rivers, trails, and streets.
The line features only have one dimension and therefore can only
be used to measure length. Line features have a starting and
ending point, Common examples would be road centerlines and
hydrology. Symbology most commonly used to distinguish arc
features from one another are line types (solid lines versus
dashed lines) and combinations using colors and line thicknesses
(Dempsey, 2021).
+ POLYGON DATA (FEATURE) - It is used to represent areas such as
the boundary of a city (on a large-scale map), lake, or forest.
Polygon features are two-dimensional and therefore can be used
to measure the area and perimeter of a geographic feature, It is
commonly distinguished using either thematic mapping
symbology (color schemes), patterns, or in the case of numeric and streets all fall into the category of discrete data sets. Maps
gradation, color gradation scheme could be used” made with discrete GIS data will have areas on the map that
(Dempsey,2021). contain values from that data set and areas on the map where
that data set is absent (Dempsey, 2020).
Both line and point feature data represent polygon data
at a much smaller scale, They help reduce clutter by simplifying
data locations. As the features are zoomed in, the point location
1. THEMATIC DATA - Thematic data layers are information
of a school (for example) is more realistically represented by a
data sets that have a common feature or attribute placed in the
series of building footprints showing the physical location of the
same layer of spatial data, This guide is arranged by general
campus, Line features of a street centerline file only represent the
spatial themes. This guide is meant to be a starting point for
physical location of the street, If a higher degree of spatial
finding spatial data that corresponds to the specific focus of a GIS
resolution is needed, a street curb width file would be used to
analysis or map.
show the width of the road as well as any features such as
medians and rights-of-way or sidewalks (Dempsey, 2021).

2. RASTER DATA- It is also known as grid data, it represents the
fourth type of feature: surfaces (Dempsey, 2021), It is cell-based
and this data category also includes aerial and satellite imagery. It
provides a representation of the world as a surface divided up
into a regular grid array, or cells, where each of these cells has an
associated value (Romeijn, n.d.). There are two types of raster
data
+ CONTINUOUS RASTER DATA - It has no clearly defined
boundaries. Every point on a map made with continuous GIS data
will contain a value. -Elevation, slope, temperature, and
precipitation are examples of datasets that are
continuous(Dempsey, 2020)
« DISCRETE RASTER DATA - It is geographic data that only occurs in
specific locations. For polygon data, discrete data has well-defined
boundaries. Point and line GIS data such as tree locations, rivers,
2. SPECTRAL DATA – These are satellite images and aerial
photographs which are then often used to derive information (for
example vegetation geologic information) by classifying the
spectral signatures of each type of feature.
4. PICTURES (IMAGERY) – This includes scanned maps or drawings
and building photographs.
TYPES OF ATTRIBUTE DATA
Attribute data can be store as one of five different field types in
2table or database (Dempsey, 2013):
1. Character – The character property (or string) is for
text-based values such as the name of a street or descriptive
values such as the condition of a street. Character attribute data is
stored as a series of alphanumeric symbols.
 2. INTEGER - It is a whole number (not a fractional
number) that can be positive, negative, or zero. It is divided
between short and long integer values. Short integers store
numeric values without fractional values for a shorter range than
long integers.
3. FLOATING – It attribute values store numeric values
with fractional values. These are for numeric values with decimal
points.
4. Date – it contains the date and time values.
5. BLOB - it stands for binary large object and this
attribute type is used for storing information such images,
multimedia, or bits of code in a field. This field stores object
linking and embedding (OLE) which are objects created in other
applications such as images and multimedia and linked from the
BLOB field.
Geographical Information System and Crime Mapping
According to Chainey and Ratcliff (2005) crime mapping is
a progressive blend o of practical criminal justice issues with their
search field geographical information systems and science. GIS
can be employed at different levels to support operational
policing, tactical crime mapping, detection, and wider-ranging
strategic analyses (Chainey and Ratcliff,2005). In its most basic
form, crime mapping is the use of a Geographic Information
System (GIS) to visualize and organize spatial data for more formal
statistical analysis. Spatial analysis can be employed in both an
exploratory and well as a more confirmatory manner with the
primary purpose of identifying how a certain community or
ecological factors(such as population characteristics or the built
environment) influence the spatial patterns of crime. Two topics
of particular interest include examining evidence of the diffusion
of crime and evaluating the effectiveness of geographically
targeted crime reduction strategies.
Crime mapping can also be used to visualize and analyze
the movement or target selection patterns of criminals. Mapping
software allows for the creation of electronic pin maps and by
spatially organizing the data, GIS increases the analytical value of
these maps. Crime mapping allows practitioners to explore crime
patterns, offender mobility, and serial offenses over time and
space. Within the context of local policing, crime mapping
provides the visualization of crime clusters by types of crimes,
thereby validating the street knowledge of patrol officers.
Crime mapping can be used for allocating resources
(patrol, specialized enforcement) and also to inform how the
concerns of local citizens are being addressed (Reid, §., Tita, G.,
and Valasik, M., 2019)
Law Enforcement and Crime Mapping
Computerized crime mapping technology enables law
enforcement agencies to analyze and correlate data sources to
create a detailed snapshot of crime incidents and related factors
within a community or other geographical area. It allows law
enforcement agencies to plot crime-related data against a
digitized map of a community, city, or region, Crime-related data
then can be compared and analyzed with other external data
sources (Mamalian and LaVigne, 1999).
 GIS does not replace a law enforcement agency's process ongoing problems. Its focus is often on identifying areas with high
of collecting and storing information in a database. Rather, it crime rates and problem-solving ways to decrease the overall
enhances the agency's ability to use the data. It also enhances a crime rates. Its purpose is to perform police service more
police officer's time on the streets. An officer with access to GIS effectively and efficiently by matching service delivery to
software and addition datasets, such as parolee and probationer demands for service.
data, can run queries from a laptop in the patrol car (OVC, 2003).
3. ADMINISTRATIVE CRIME ANALYSIS - This type of crime
Crime Analysis analysis looks at the administration and deployment of police and
resources. It deals with long-range comparisons. Examples of
Crime analysis is defined as a set of systematic analytical
administrative crime analysis tasks include: providing economic,
processes providing timely and useful information on crime
geographic, and law enforcement information to police
patterns and trends Effective crime analysis affects all areas and
management, CityA dministration, City Council, and
operations of a police department by refining and distributing
neighborhood/citizen groups.
useful ‘information (Stiles,1981), It is used to improve the
operations and administration of police departments, to improve
the job satisfaction of police officers, to permit the patrol
deployment system to corréspond with service demand, and to
augment patrol activities in crime prevention (Karpilo, 2019).

Types of Crime Analysis

1. TACTICAL CRIME ANALYSIS - This type of crime

analysis looks at the short-term in order to stop what is currently
taking place, it deals with immediate criminal offenses, for
example, a crime spree. It is used to identify one perpetrator with
many targets or one target with many perpetrators and provide
an immediate response. It provides information to assist
operational personnel in the identification of crime trends and in
the arrest of criminal offenders.

2. STRATEGIC CRIME ANALYSIS - This type of crime

analysis looks at long-term and ongoing issues. It is primarily
concerned with operational strategies and seeks solutions to