Mapping and analysing crime data: lessons from research and practice

303 Pages·2001·7.14 MB·English

by  Alex Hirschfield

Mapping and Analysing Crime Data
Crime mapping and the spatial analysis of crime data are recognised as
powerful tools for the study and control of crime. The passing of the 1998
Crime and Disorder Act in England and Wales has driven the emerging
demand for more information and detailed crime pattern analysis. It is a
topic pursued by every police force and local authority in England and
Wales, now that they have a joint statutory duty to produce Crime and
Disorder Audits for their areas.
Using a series of case studies this multidisciplinary book highlights the
experiences of academics and practitioners to provide a much needed
position statement of current practice in the mapping and analysis of crime
data in the UK. It covers experiences of crime mapping and spatial analysis
of crime data by agencies centrally involved in delivering a partnership
approach to crime prevention. There are also examples from the USA,
where crime mapping has been an important part of law enforcement and
crime prevention efforts for some time.
Very few books have been published on the use of GIS in mapping crime
data. This forward-looki ng and progressive book
• explores the types of problems to which spatial crime analysis can be
applied;
• reviews capabilities and limitations of existing techniques and explores
future directions and developments of spatial crime analysis;
• addresses questions of direct relevance to practitioners, their involve-
ment in spatial crime analysis, GIS and crime prevention, and the need
for training.

Mapping and Analysing
Crime Data
Lessons from research and practice
Edited by Alex Hirschfield and
Kate Bowers

London and New York
First published 2001
by Taylor & Francis
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Taylor & Francis Inc.
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001
Taylor & Francis is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2003.
© 2001 Alex Hirschfield and Kate Bowers
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Every effort has been made to ensure that the advice and information in this
book is true and accurate at the time of going to press. However, neither the
publisher nor the authors can accept any legal responsibilityor liability for any
errors or omissions that may be made. In the case of drug administration, any
medical procedure or the use of technical equipment mentioned within this
book, you are strongly advised to consult the manufacturer’s guidelines.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Mapping and analysing crime data: lessons from research and
practice / edited by Alex Hirschfield and Kate Bowers.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Crime analysis – Great Britain – Data processing. 2. Crime
prevention – Great Britain – Data processing. 3. Law
enforcement – Great Britain – Data processing. I. Hirschfield, Alex.
II. Bowers, Kate.
HV7936 C88 M36 2001
364'.042–dc21 00–060785
ISBN 0-203-30586-8 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-34281-X (Adobe eReader Format)
ISBN 0–748–40922–X (Print Edition)
In Memory of Moss Madden (1946–2000),
Professor of Planning and Regional Science,
Department of Civic Design,
University of Liverpool

Contents
List of figures ix
List of tables xiii
List of colour plates xv
Notes on contributors xvii
Foreword xxiii
Acknowledgements xxvii
1 Introduction 1
KATE BOWERS AND ALEX HIRSCHFIELD
Part I
Crime mapping and applied research 9
2 Methods for automating the geographical analysis of
crime incident data 11
IAN TURTON AND S TAN OPENSHAW
3 GIS and the journey to crime: an analysis of patterns
in South Yorkshire 27
ANDREW COSTELLO AND PAUL WILES
4 Crime, repeat victimisation and GIS 61
JERRY H. RATCLIFFE AND MICHAEL J. MCCULLAGH
Part II
Local authority applications 93
5 Combating crime through partnership: examples of
crime and disorder mapping solutions in London, UK 95
SPENCER CHAINEY
viii Contents
6 A GIS-linked database for monitoring repeat domestic burglary 120
KATE BOWERS, MARTIN NEWTON AND RICHARD NUTTER
Part III
GIS in the police and emergency services 137
7 Mapping out hazardous space for police work 139
JAMES L. LEBEAU
8 GIS for spatial analysis of fire incidence: identification
of social, economic and environmental risk indicators 156
STEVEN MERRALL
Part IV
International perspectives 185
9 Tools in the spatial analysis of crime 187
DOUG WILLIAMSON, SARA MCLAFFERTY, PHILIP MCGUIRE,
TIMOTHY ROSS, JOHN MOLLENKOPF, VICTOR GOLDSMITH AND
STEVE QUINN
10 The evolution of crime mapping in the United States:
from the descriptive to the analytic 203
NANCY G. LA VIGNE AND ELIZABETH R. GROFF
Part V
Practical considerations: what can we expect of GIS? 223

11 What to do about it? Let’s turn off our minds and GIS 225
KEN PEASE
12 Decision support in crime prevention: data analysis,
policy evaluation and GIS 237
ALEX HIRSCHFIELD
Index 269
Chapter Title ix
Figures
2.1 Residential burglaries and street robberies in Baltimore
county 19
2.2 Residential crime hotspots, population at risk census
night population 20
2.3 Street crime hotspots, population at risk census night
population 21
2.4 Street crime hotspots, population at risk street length 21
2.5 Results of GEM mode 3 for residential crime 22
2.6 GEM mode 3 analysis of street crime, with resident
population as population at risk 23
2.7 GEM mode 3 analysis of street crime, with street length
as population at risk 24
2.8 Results of a random GAM run 25
3.1 City of Sheffield: travel to crime, low offence/offender
rate area 47
3.2 City of Sheffield: travel to crime, high offence/offender
rate area 48

3.3 Offender 5 travel 52
3.4 Offender 6 travel 53
3.5 City of Sheffield: travel to crime, typical burglary pattern 56
4.1 Temporal topological relationships 64
4.2 Summary of averaging, rigid and aoristic temporal search
processes 65
4.3 Linear weighting adaptive threshold process with 15-week
window 66
4.4 Police beats overlaid with one-kilometre square grids to show
general crime and temporal analysis 67
4.5a Non-residential burglary locations 69
4.5b Non-residential burglary locations – repeat victimisation 69
4.6a Non-residential burglaries with STAC hotspot areas 70
4.6b The Vertical Mapper hotspot surface 70
4.7a SPAM isodensity map for non-residential burglaries 70
4.7b SPAM derived significant hotspots with repeat crime locations 70