Technological advances in computer mapping and information systems as well as theoretical innovation in crime prevention have combined to bring crime mapping to the centre for crime prevention practice and policy. The contributors in this book from criminologists, geographers and crime analysts, demonstrate the important role that crime maps have begun to play in crime prevention theory and applications. They show how crime mapping can be used in crime prevention programmes and point to its future applications.

Crime analysis is an emerging profession in policing and a growing topic of interest in the criminal justice field. This book offers a thorough introduction to the field as well as guidelines for its practice, making it a useful asset for current and future crime analysts and police practitioners as well as for students.

The growing potential of GIS for supporting policing and crime reduction is now being recognised by a broader community. GIS can be employed at different levels to support operational policing, tactical crime mapping, detection, and wider-ranging strategic analyses. With the use of GIS for crime mapping increasing, this book provides a definitive reference. GIS and Crime Mapping provides essential information and reference material to support readers in developing and implementing crime mapping. Relevant case studies help demonstrate the key principles, concepts and applications of crime mapping. This book combines the topics of theoretical principles, GIS, analytical techniques, data processing solutions, information sharing, problem-solving approaches, map design, and organisational structures for using crime mapping for policing and crime reduction. Delivered in an accessible style, topics are covered in a manner that underpins crime mapping use in the three broad areas of operations, tactics and strategy. Provides a complete start-to-finish coverage of crime mapping, including theory, scientific methodologies, analysis techniques and design principles. Includes a comprehensive presentation of crime mapping applications for operational, tactical and strategic purposes. Includes global case studies and examples to demonstrate good practice. Co-authored by Spencer Chainey, a leading researcher and consultant on GIS and crime mapping, and Jerry Ratcliffe, a renowned professor and former police officer. This book is essential reading for crime analysts and other professionals working in intelligence roles in law enforcement or crime reduction, at the local, regional and national government levels. It is also an excellent reference for undergraduate and Masters students taking courses in GIS, Geomatics, Crime Mapping, Crime Science, Criminal Justice and Criminology.

Gathering accurate data probably constitutes one of the most important aspects of crime investigation and prevention. How do we put the data to use? How can we improve our methods of handling the information we collect? By describing a project for the development and implementation of a computerized crime-mapping system in the Chicago area, this book makes a significant contribution toward a more efficient and intelligent use of crime data to understand and prevent crime in a community setting.

Crime Analysis With Crime Mapping, Fifth Edition provides students and practitioners with a solid introduction to the conceptual nature and practice of crime analysis and how it assists police in crime reduction. Author Rachel Boba Santos delves into this emerging field, providing guidelines and techniques for conducting crime analysis supported by evidence-based research, real world application, and recent innovations in the field. As the only introductory core text for crime analysis, this must-have resource presents readers with opportunities to apply theory, research methods, and statistics to careers that support and enhance the effectiveness of modern policing.

In recent years, the fields of crime analysis and environmental criminology have grown in prominence for their advancements made in understanding crime. This book offers a theoretical and methodological introduction to crime analysis, covering the main techniques used in the analysis of crime and the foundation of crime mapping. Coverage includes discussions of: The development of crime analysis and the profession of the crime analyst, The theoretical roots of crime analysis in environmental criminology, Pertinent statistical methods for crime analysis, Spatio-temporal applications of crime analysis, Crime mapping and the intersection of crime analysis and police work, Future directions for crime analysis. Packed with case studies and including examples of specific problems faced by crime analysts, this book offers the perfect introduction to the analysis and investigation of crime. It is essential reading for students taking courses on crime analysis, crime mapping, crime prevention, and environmental criminology. A companion website offers further resources for students, including flashcards and video and website links. For instructors, it includes chapter-by-chapter PowerPoint slides.

With the rise of surveillance technology in the last decade, police departments now have an array of sophisticated tools for tracking, monitoring, even predicting crime patterns. In particular crime mapping, a technique used by the police to monitor crime by the neighborhoods in their geographic regions, has become a regular and relied-upon feature of policing. Many claim that these technological developments played a role in the crime drop of the 1990s, and yet no study of these techniques and their relationship to everyday police work has been made available. Noted scholar Peter K. Manning spent six years observing three American police departments and two British constabularies in order to determine what effects these kinds of analytic tools have had on modern police management and practices. While modern technology allows the police to combat crime in sophisticated, detail-oriented ways, Manning discovers that police strategies and tactics have not been altogether transformed as perhaps would be expected. In The Technology of Policing, Manning untangles the varying kinds of complex crime-control rhetoric that underlie much of today’s police department discussion and management, and provides valuable insight into which are the most effective—and which may be harmful—in successfully tracking criminal behavior. The Technology of Policing offers a new understanding of the changing world of police departments and information technology’s significant and undeniable influence on crime management.

One of the key methods of reducing and dealing with criminal activity is to accurately gauge and then analyse the geographical distribution of crime (from small scale to large scale areas). Once the police and government know what areas suffer most from criminal activity they can assess why this is the case and then deal with it in the most effective way. Crime mapping and the spatial analysis of crime data have become recognised as powerful tools for the study and control of crime. Much of the emerging demand for more information and detailed crime pattern analysis have been driven by legislative changes, such as the UK's new Crime and Disorder Act which has placed a joint statutory duty on Police Forces and Local Authorities to produce crime and disorder audits for their areas. The book sets out methods used in the fields of Geographical Information Systems and highlights areas of best practice, examines the types of problems to which spatial crime analysis can be applied, reviews the capabilities and limitations of existing techniques, and explores the future directions of spatial crime analysis and the need for training. It centres on a series of case studies highlighting the experiences of academics and practitioners in agencies centrally involved in the partnership approach to crime prevention. Practitioners and academics not only in the UK but also worldwide should be interested in the book as an up-to-date information resource and a practical guide.

Putting Crime in its Place: Units of Analysis in Geographic Criminology focuses on the units of analysis used in geographic criminology. While crime and place studies have been a part of criminology from the early 19th century, growing interest in crime places over the last two decades demands critical reflection on the units of analysis that should form the focus of geographic analysis of crime. Should the focus be on very small units such as street addresses or street segments, or on larger aggregates such as census tracts or communities? Academic researchers, as well as practical crime analysts, are confronted routinely with the dilemma of deciding what the unit of analysis should be when reporting on trends in crime, when identifying crime hot spots or when mapping crime in cities. In place-based crime prevention, the choice of the level of aggregation plays a particularly critical role. This peer reviewed collection of essays aims to contribute to crime and place studies by making explicit the problems involved in choosing units of analysis in geographic criminology. Written by renowned experts in the field, the chapters in this book address basic academic questions, and also provide real-life examples and applications of how they are resolved in cutting-edge research. Crime analysts in police and law enforcement agencies as well as academic researchers studying the spatial distributions of crime and victimization will learn from the discussions and tools presented.