Mapping crime

The promotion, research, evaluation, development, and dissemination of GIS (geographic information systems) technology and the spatial analysis of crime.

Crimes are human phenomena; therefore, their distribution across the landscape is not geographically random. For crimes to occur, offenders and their targets – the victims and/or property – must, for a period of time, exist at the same location. Several factors, from the lure of potential targets to simple geographic convenience for an offender, influence where people choose to break the law. Therefore, an understanding of where and why crimes occur can improve attempts to fight crime. Maps offer crime analysts graphic representations of such crime-related issues.