UNIT 3

POLICE PLANNING AND STEPS IN POLICE OPERATIONS

Plans are good, planning is vital. These are facts. But if they are kept in the inner
recesses of the office filling cabinet, THEY MEAN NOTHING. The advice is, execute your plan.
Its real measure of soundness is in the execution. SUCCESS is one (1) percent instructions and
ninety nine percent (99) percent supervision.

Learning Outcomes:

The students will be able to:

 Formulate plans in the conduct of different police operations.

Pretest
Instruction: choose and encircle the correct letter. Each question is 2pionts each.

1. Planning as a management function is done in the various levels of police organization.

Broad policy based from laws, directives, policies and needs in general is the
responsibility of?
a. Chief, Police Organization c. Secretary of Interior Defense
b. The president d. Director for Plans
2. As a Police operation officer at police district level, you will prepare comprehensive
operational programs and these are?
a. Special and extra – special operational program.
b. Regular and irregular programs.
c. Regular and meeting unusual needs program.
d. Special and regular programs
3. Unusual needs in police parlance can be one of the following except one.
a. Expansive civil disobedience
b. Country – wide labor strike
c. Disaster like fire
d. Traffic jams
 4. In large police stations specialization in cooperation is done to fix responsibility,
assignment on basic interest and ability, easier measurement of accomplishments.
a. Simplify training requirements
b. Economy in the training of specialist
c. Understudy system can easily be done
d. Ease of recruitment of personnel.
5. You are the chief of the mobile patrol unit with so many roads worth vehicles and that,
your crews are complete. However, your fuel allocation is not enough for continuous
cruising for the shift of all your cars. What will you do in such a situation and considering
too that your mobile radios are ok.
a. Reduce the number of patrol vehicles per shift so that each car can cruise
continuously.
b. Get additional money for gas from your commander that all the cars can cruise to
patrol.
c. Mobile patrol cars for the shift are made to stand – by at strategic locations.
d. All of the above

Content

What is planning ?
The process by which managers set objectives, assess the future, and develop courses of
action designed to accomplish objectives.

What is Police Planning ?

Police planning is the key to administrative process. The process of combining aspects of
the public safety activity and the realistic anticipation of future problems, analysis of strategy
and the correlation of strategy to detail and the use of rational design or pattern for all the public
safety and undertakings.

Police planning also means the act of determining policies and guidelines for police
activities and operations and provides controls and safeguards for such activities and operations
in the police forces.

Types of Police Planning

I. STRATEGIC PLANNING
Strategic planning is a long term and with a far reaching impact. The commonly
agreed timeline for these types of plans is more than five (5) years in duration. This is
usually done at the executive levels.
 II. MEDIUM – TERM PLANNING
These are plans whose timelines are between those of strategic plans usually
between one (1) to three (3) years. There are some text which include medium term
plans as among the strategic plan, as it shapes the organization partially. The Medium
– Term Development Plan is established to initially set the directions towards the
aspirations for its organization. It consists of Key Result Areas (KRAs) to guide the
organization’s vision and mission. Challenges are also important in the MTDP for
they foster the lessons learned from the past which are vital for the reformation and
modification of its priorities.

III. TACTICAL PLANNING

A short - term and usually has limited impact. This is also referred to as
near term plan. The commonly agreed timeline for these types of plans is less than
one (1) year. This is usually done at the ground levels of the organization.

STEPS IN POLICE PLANNING

1. Frame of Reference
2. Clarifying the problem
3. Collecting all pertinent facts
4. Analyzing the facts
5. Developing alternative plans
6. Selecting the most appropriate alternative
7. Selling the plan
8. Arranging for the execution of the plan
9. Evaluating the effectiveness of the plan

Frame of reference – is based on the review of the matters relating to the situation for which
plans are being developed.

Clarifying the problem - identification of the problem, and understanding both the problem
and the recommended solution.

Collecting all pertinent facts – all facts relating to the issue must be gathered before the
development of a plan addressing the situation.

Analyzing the facts – careful analysis and evaluation must be made after all data have been
collected.
Developing alternative plans – as the alternative solutions are evaluated, one of the proposed
plans shall usually prove more logical than others.

Selecting the most appropriate alternatives – a careful consideration of all facts leads to the
selection of the “best” alternative proposal.

Selling the plan – a plan to be effectively carried out, must be accepted by persons concerned at
the appropriate level of the plans development.

Arranging for the execution of the plans – requires the issuance of orders and directives to
units and personnel concerned, the establishment of a schedule, and the provision of manpower
and equipment for carrying out the plan.

Evaluating the effectiveness of the plan – this is necessary in order to know whether a correct
alternative was chosen, whether or not the plan was correct, which phase was poorly
implemented, and whether additional planning may be necessary.

FUNDAMENTALS OF POLICE PLANNING

Know your situation

What are your problems? What do you have in terms of resources to change your
situation? Why are you in your present situation? Make an analysis of your obtaining condition.
Know your officials. Study the demographics of your area. Study the previous reports of your
predecessors. Talk with the people and your own policemen.

Know what you want to do

What is your purpose or goal? Always “start with the end in mind” Determine how,
where and when your tasks will be finished.

Breakdown your goals into smaller tasks

Make your action steps towards your goal. Reaching a big goal is a result of
accomplishing small connecting tasks. Know the first steps towards your goal.

What are the resources needed

Pinpoint what needs to be done, what is needed to do and who is the best person to do the
job. Resources will always be scares; otherwise economist will be outwork.

Anticipate problems
 Do some scenario- setting exercises. Imagine or dream about your plan. Be ready to adapt
to changes in the environment. Anticipate resistance to the plan.

Implement your plan

There will always be critiques to your plan. That is their job. Do yours! After doing your
best to plan, implement it.

Monitor results

Measure the progress of your plan. Find out the difficulties and problems encountered by
tasked resources. Discuss on how to get over the humps and bumps with your people. Conduct
perception surveys and ask for feedback from the church, the media, the schools and business
groups.

Evaluate the plan

Part of the plan, are the sets of success criteria or indicators of success. Are you happy
with what has been achieved so far? Don’t be drastic to change your plan.

Document the experience

Keep a record of what is happening. Keep a diary of significant events. Wright down
your thoughts about all ideas relevant to the plan.

Report your experience

Share your experience to your superiors and peers. Let them analyze your plan or your
methods. Learn from these. Report your plan during command conferences, meetings with local
officials and even corporate groups if you have the chance.

EXECUTION OF POLICE PLAN

1. Protection of persons and property
2. Preservation of the peace
3. Prevention of crime
4. Repression or suppression of criminal activities
5. Apprehension of criminals
6. Enforcement of laws and ordinances and regulations of conduct
7. Safeguarding of public health and moral
8. Prompt execution of criminal writs and processes of the courts
9. Coordination and cooperation with other law enforcement agencies
SKILLS NEEDED FOR PLANNING

Good analytical thinking

You have to know the situation. You have to set – up your baseline data, learn to
analyze what is happening and how it affects your unit. Where is your crime prone area?
What is your crime clock?

Forecasting
Seeing ahead and making sound assumptions. Begin with the end in mind. Use
your intuition based on a sound reflection of past experiences. Use your imagination.
Play around with ideas which would help you to be more effective as a police unit
commander. Examine the casual relationship of events, and draw conclusion with a view
of the future.

Prioritizing
Compare your sources/ capabilities with your goals and objectives. Ask what
should be done first? What is more important?

Sound objective setting

Know where you are going and how to get there be practical. A journey of a
thousand miles begins with a first step.

Contingency planning and crisis management

A contingency plan represents your efforts to guess what might go wrong or
differently with your plan and how to handle it if it does.

Monitoring
Try to see the progress of your plan. Make a checklist of what has been done.
Place reminders on conspicuous places to remind you of the progress of your plan.

Documenting
If you have not written it, then you have not thought of it. Write your ideas down.
Report the progress of your plan.

Flexibility
Adjust your plans to resources. Be realistic. Do not incorporate tasks which need
legislation. Also, be flexible to the point of being able to modify certain parts of the plan
which do not work.
 Inter- operability
The capability of the commander to work in synergy with the different
government and private sectors of the community. It’s not just mere coordination,
collaboration or liaison. It is a commitment to deploy and employ resources, and mobilize
with synchronized energy with the different sectors of the community.

POLICE OPERATIONS

Police operations proved to be successful with the cooperation of the community

in the area, not only in the Philippine setting but also in most countries throughout the
world.

Police operations
Comprises the mission – critical aspects of a police organization. It refers to activities
conducted in the field by law enforcement officers as they serve and protect, including patrol,
traffic, investigation and general calls for service. Police operations consist of policies,
institutional arrangements, processes and resources for the performance of policemen main
functions.

Communication: The foundation of police operations

Communication skills are critical to every aspect of effective police operations. Effective
communication can produce several positive outcomes and can be used to inform, persuade,
diffuse, guide, motivate, reassure and negotiate.

Communication – is any act by which one person gives to or receives from another person’s
information about that person’s needs, desires, perceptions, knowledge, or effective states.

Patrol operations performed: The most basic Police Operation

It has been said that patrol operations are the “backbone of a police department”, the
“most important component in any police organization, not only because it is the largest, but
because patrol is in direct contact with the public and presents the omnipresence of the police in
the community.

The heart of the police operation is patrol which is often called as “the backbone of the
police organization.” At times he must possess the patience of Job and the wisdom of Solomon.
 Police effectiveness is greatly influenced by citizen involvement regardless of the patrol
strategy used. Citizen reporting time affects the possibility of on – scene arrest more than does
police response time. Response time is often lengthened because citizens delay in calling the
police. They often do so because of decision making problems or problems in communicating
with the police.

The SARA problem – solving technique has contributed greatly to policing effectiveness
and consists of four (4) stages.

1. Scanning – identifying the problem

2. Analysis – learning the problem’s causes, scope, and effects
3. Response – acting to alleviate the problem
4. Assessment – determining whether the response worked

Law enforcement officers are integral part in the conduct of a successful police operation.
Officers must use effective communication skills, including active listening skills. They must
document their action in well written reports.

PNP PLANS FOR POLICE OPERATIONS

In line with this context, the Philippine National Police as a police organization has
established six (6) Master Plans in the conduct of police operations. These Master plans for
operations serves as a ready reference of all PNP units in the performance of their mandated
tasks. It also serves as a guiding tool of the organization to achieve its vision, mission and
goals.

These Master Plans help all PNP uniformed personnel to fully understand and
effectively implement the various operational plans designed to address major threats to
criminality, safety and security.

SIX (6) MASTER PLANS

1. SANDIGAN
2. SANDUGO
3. SANGYAMAN
4. SANG – BANAT
5. SANG – INGAT
6. SAKLOLO

SANDIGAN – PNP Master Plan for Anti – Criminality

 The campaign against crime is a continuing concern. It is a war that the police could not
win alone, and cannot in any real sense fight alone. Police could not change the “ root drivers” of
crime such as poverty, unemployment, poor housing, moral education, freedom, civil liberties,
ambitions, dysfunctional families and other ills of socio – economic opportunities. Thus, all
aspects of police work should be premised upon active community consent, trust and
participation.

MISSION

The PNP shall implement a responsive and holistic anti – crime strategy in order to prevent,
control and suppress the occurrences of crime effectively and to insure safety in our community.

SANDUGO – PNP‘s International Security Operation (ISO) Master Plan

It serves as the long – range and holistic master plan of the PNP in waging an internal
security support operations nationwide and prescribes the counter – insurgency support strategy,
operational concept, scheme of implementation, service support, and coordinating instructions in
order to accomplish the PNP’s international security support mission.

SANGYAMAN – PNP’s Master Plan to help protect and preserve our Environment,
Cultural Properties and Natural Resources

This master plan prescribes the guidelines to be followed by tasked PNP Units / Offices
in assisting lead government agencies in the enforcement of laws over Philippine territorial
waters, lakes, rivers, mountain ranges, forest, to include laws and ordinances that have been set
forth to preserve, protect and enhance our environment and natural resources, in close
coordination with the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources, Department of
Agriculture, National Museum and other tasked government agencies and non – government
organizations.

SANGBANAT – PNP’s Master Plan for the Campaign against Illegal Drugs
This master plan sets forth the concept of operations, operational guidelines and tasks of
all PNP units/offices in the total fight against illegal drugs integrating the activities of all
concerned National Government Agencies (NGA’s) in the conduct of Anti – illegal Drug
Campaign at the national down to barangay levels.

SANG – INGAT – PNP’s Master Plan o Security Preparations

This Master Plan sets forth the strategic concepts and operational guidelines, as well as
contingency plan to ensure the maintenance of peace and order during the year – round
observance of holidays, which involves great concern on movement of the citizens, international,
national and local meeting conferences, events, and rallies in protest to wide range of issues.
SAKLOLO – PNP’s Mater Plan for Disaster Preparedness
It sets forth the strategic concepts, operational guidelines and coordinating instructions to
be undertaken by the PNP Offices and Personnel on Disaster management. The PNP as Disaster
Coordinating Council operating unit, conducts disaster preparedness activities, provides security
coverage in disaster areas, and assist in search and rescue, evacuation, and relief operations.

Learning activities
Activity 1. Write an essay on how important police planning is, in the police organization.
(minimum of 200 words).

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Activity 2. Explain the SARA problem solving technique.

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 Thank you for completing the tasks in the activity. You can now proceed to answer the
assessment.

Assessment:

Explain the term police operation and planning in your own words and why it is
necessary in police organization. (minimum of 500 words.)

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Congratulations for a job well done. You have successfully completed the activities and
the assessment of this unit. You can now proceed to the next level.
 UNIT 4

Crime Mapping

(Computer Statistics) in the law enforcement operations and criminal justice

Ever since maps have been available that depict the geographic features of communities,
such as streets and city boundaries, police departments have used such maps to determine patrol
areas and emergency routes as well as to assist patrol officers in finding specific addresses.
Police departments have also mapped crime, a process that, until recently, involved the manual
placement of pins on hand-drawn wall maps.

Learning outcomes:

The students will be able to:

 Conduct crime mapping analysis (computer statistics) in the law enforcement operations
and criminal justice.

Content

Definitions: GIS and Crime Mapping.

A geographic information system (GIS) is a powerful software tool that allows
the user to create any kind of geographic representation, from a simple point map to a three-
dimensional visualization of spatial or temporal data.

A GIS is a set of computer-based tools that allows the user to modify,

visualize, query, and analyze geographic and tabular data.

A GIS is similar to a spreadsheet or word processing program in that the software provides a
framework and templates for data collection, collation, and analysis, and it is up to the user to
decide what parts of the system to use and how to use them. A GIS does more than enable the
user to produce paper maps; it also allows him or her to view the data behind geographic
 features, combines various features, manipulate the data and maps, and perform statistical
functions.

Crime mapping is a term used in policing to refer to the process of conducting

spatial analysis within crime analysis of crime problems and other police-related issues.

Relationship of Crime Mapping to Crime Analysis

Clarifying where different types of crime and other incidents occur is one of the many
important functions of crime analysis. Because of the unique nature of the software used and the
prominence of geographic data in crime mapping, this type of analysis is often discussed as
though it is distinct from crime analysis; in reality, however, crime mapping is a sub discipline of
crime analysis. Crime mapping serves three main functions within crime analysis:

1. It facilitates visual and statistical analyses of the spatial nature of crime and other types of
events.

2. It allows analysts to link unlike data sources together based on common geographic variables
(e.g., linking census information, school information, and crime data for a common area).

3. It provides maps that help to communicate analysis results.

The following are some examples of how crime mapping is used within the three types of crime
analysis.
In tactical crime analysis;
Crime mapping is used to identify immediate patterns for crimes such as residential and
commercial burglary, auto theft, and theft from vehicles. For example, spatial analysis of auto
theft incidents may reveal clusters of activity at specific locations that might indicate a crime
pattern.

In strategic crime analysis;

Crime mapping is utilized in long-term applications to analyze the relationship between
criminal activity and indicators of disorder, such as a high volume of vacant property or disorder
calls for service; to assist in geographic and temporal allocation of resources, such as patrol
officer scheduling and determination of patrol areas; to examine patterns of crime at or around
specific locations, such as schools, bars, or drug treatment centers; to calculate crime rate
information, such as numbers of residential burglaries per household; and to incorporate crime
data with qualitative geographic information, such as information on teenage hangouts, student
pathways to school, or drug and prostitution markets.

In administrative crime analysis;

Crime mapping is a valuable tool used by police, researchers, and media organizations to
convey criminal activity information to the public. Web sites operated by police departments and
news organization routinely post maps that depict areas of crime, along with corresponding
tables and definitions. For example, a police agency can reduce citizen requests for
neighborhood crime information by placing monthly or weekly crime maps on a Web site that
members of the public can access using computers in their homes or at the local library.

Geographic Features
A geographic information system translates physical elements in the real world— such as
roads, buildings, lakes, and mountains—into forms that can be displayed, manipulated, and
analyzed along with police information such as crime, arrest, and traffic accident data.A GIS
uses four types of features to represent objects and locations in the real world; these are referred
to as point, line, polygon, and image features.

Point Features

A point feature is a discrete location that is usually depicted on a GIS-generated map by a

symbol or label. A point feature is analogous to a pin placed on a paper wall map. A GIS uses
different symbols to depict the locations of data relevant to the analysis, such as crimes, motor
vehicle accidents, traffic signs, buildings, police beat stations, and cell phone towers.
 Line Features

A line feature is a real-world element that can be represented on a map by a line or set of
lines. The lines in the example, represent streets. Other types of line features include rivers,
streams, power lines, and bus routes.

POINT AND LINE FEATURE EXAMPLE

Polygon Features

A polygon feature is a geographic area represented on a map by a multisided figure with

a closed set of lines. Polygons can represent areas as large as continents or as small as buildings;
in GIS-generated maps they may be used to depict county boundaries, city boundaries, parks,
school campuses, or police districts.
 Polygon Feature Example

Image Features

An image feature on a GIS-generated map is a vertical photograph taken from a satellite

or an airplane that is digitized and placed within the appropriate coordinates. Such photos, which
may appear in black and white or color, show the details of streets, buildings, parking lots, and
environmental features (landscaping).
Image Feature Example

SOURCE: Photo courtesy of the Chula Vista (California) Police Department.

TYPES OF CRIME MAPPING

Single-Symbol Mapping

In single-symbol maps, individual, uniform symbols represent features such as the

locations of stores, roads, or states. An important thing to keep in mind about single-symbol
maps is that a GIS places all points on such a map that share the same address directly on top of
one another, making it impossible for the map to show how many points there really are. For
example, in the map shown in, if a middle school and elementary school share the same address,
the GIS will have placed two gray circles in the same spot, so there is no way someone looking
at the map can see all the schools in the area. This drawback of single-symbol mapping is
particularly relevant for the mapping of crime and other police data, because crime and other
police-related incidents often occur repeatedly at particular locations. Because of this, crime
analysts use single-symbol mapping primarily to display geographic information in which there
is no overlap; they employ other types of maps to convey information about multiple incidents at
particular locations. In addition, single-symbol maps are not useful when analysts are dealing
with large amounts of data. Imagine the map with the locations of 100 schools marked. The
points would overlap, and the map would be difficult to read. Thus analysts use single-symbol
maps primarily when they are working with relatively small amounts of data that do not overlap.
Police agencies also often use single-symbol maps to communicate the locations of crimes
within patterns to police personnel.

Single-Symbol Mapping Example

Buffers

A buffer is a specified area around a feature on a map. Buffers can be set at small
distances, such as 50 feet, or larger distances, such as 500 miles, depending on the purpose and
scale of the map. Buffers help in crime analysis by illustrating the relative distances between
features on a map. The example shows a park (polygon feature) with a 500-foot buffer, which
could be used to show whether drug arrests were made within 500 feet of the park. Buffers can
also be used as polygons for data aggregation and comparison. The image shows two buffers
(500 feet and 1000 feet) around nightclubs (point features), which analysts could use to compare
incidents directly around the nightclubs to those farther out to see whether the activity has a
spillover effect on surrounding neighborhoods.
Buffer Map Example: One Buffer

Buffer Map Example: Two Buffers

Graduated Mapping

Crime analysts often use graduated maps—that is, maps in which different sizes or colors
of features represent particular values of variables. Images are general examples of graduated
size and graduated color maps, respectively (for discussion of specific techniques for creating
these maps,) in a graduated size map, the sizes of the symbols used for point and line features
reflect their value. As noted above, single-symbol maps are not appropriate for displaying data
about crimes that occur at the same locations repeatedly. Analysts use graduated size maps for
this purpose, because these maps can account for multiple incidents at the same locations.
However, like single-symbol maps, graduated size maps are subject to overlapping points if too
many data are analyzed at once.

Graduated Size Map Example

Graduated Color Map

A map in which points are graduated by size according to the numbers of crimes at
specific locations. In a graduated color map, the colors of the symbols reflect their values; this
kind of mapping can be used with points (in a single-symbol map only),2 lines ,and polygons. A
map that uses colors to show the total numbers of crimes in particular areas—the lighter shaded
areas are those with fewer crimes, and the darker shaded areas are those with more crimes.

Number of Crimes
0
1–50
51–100
101 or more

Graduated Color Map Example

Chart Mapping

Chart mapping allows the crime analyst to display several values within a particular
variable at the same time (e.g., variable =crime, values =robbery, assault, and rape).There are
two types of chart mapping: pie and bar. In pie chart mapping, the relative percentages
(represented by slices of a pie) of values within a variable are displayed. Example of a pie chart
map that depicts fights, drugs, weapons, and disorderly conduct incidents at nightclubs. The pies
are placed at the locations of all the nightclubs in the area mapped, and the sizes of the pies are
graduated to depict the total occupancy capacities of the nightclubs, which provides a relative
comparison. Some of the nightclubs represented have had all four types of incidents, whereas
others have had only two or three of the four, and the percentages (slices) are based only on the
frequencies of the values included (not all types of incidents at all nightclubs). In bar chart
mapping, the relative frequencies (represented by bars) of values within variables are displayed.
In the example, bar charts are placed at the locations of the nightclubs in the area mapped. This
figure depicts the same data shown, but instead of percentages, the heights of the bars show the
frequencies of incidents.

Pie Chart Map Example

Crimes at Nightclubs Fights
Drugs Weapons
Disorderly Conduct Streets

Bar Chart Map Example

Density Mapping

In density mapping, analysts use point data to shade surfaces that are not limited to area
boundaries (as is the case in graduated color mapping). In their most basic form, density maps
are shaded according to the concentration of incidents in particular areas. In the map shown, the
darker colors represent areas in which the incidents are more concentrated, and the lighter colors
represent those in which the incidents are less concentrated. Such maps are used to compare
small variations in crime levels from one area to another rather than to compare levels of crime
within fixed artificial geographic boundaries, as in area maps.

Density Map Example

Interactive Crime Mapping

Rather than a type of mapping, the term interactive crime mapping refers to simplified
geographic information systems made available to novice users over the Internet. Many police
departments have interactive Web sites where citizens and police officers can conduct basic
crime mapping themselves. These applications typically are not flexible or sophisticated enough
to be useful to crime analysts. To illustrate interactive crime mapping, depict selected screens
found on the East Valley COMPASS (Community Mapping, Planning and Analysis for Safety
Strategies) interactive Web site, which is hosted by the Redlands, California, Police Department
(http://www.eastvalleycompass.org). The query screen of this site’s mapping program, which
allows the user to choose a particular type of data .In other queries, the user can request data for
particular locations, areas of interest, or time frames. The single-symbol map resulting from a
query, with its legend on the right-hand side and different types of functions (e.g., zoom, pan,
identify) listed on the left. The user can manipulate the map with limited functions, query
different data, and print maps and reports.

Interactive Map Example: Query Screen

 Interactive Map Example: Resulting Map

Crime Mapping as a Career Track

Even though many crime analysts utilize crime mapping in their daily work, many police
agencies have established specific positions that are filled by people who specialize in spatial
analysis of crime. These individuals, who are often called GIS analysts, are considered to be
different from crime analysts. Salaries for GIS analysts are typically higher than those for crime
analysts because of the specialized technical skills required and because police agencies must
compete for qualified analysts with private companies offering high salaries. Compared with
crime analyst positions, significantly fewer GIS analyst positions are available, for a number of
reasons:

(a) Smaller departments that conduct crime analysis typically have only one crime analyst
position, and that is not a specialist position;

(b) Many police officials do not feel that filling a position with a person who works only on
spatial analysis of crime is warranted; and

(c)The number of potential applicants for GIS analyst positions (i.e., individuals who have both
geography and criminal justice backgrounds) is relatively small. Individuals with expertise in
spatial analysis of crime may also find careers in organizations other than police agencies.

Summary Points
This has provided an overview of geographic information systems and crime mapping,
describing the geographic features used in mapping and the various types of mapping, and crime
mapping as a career. The following are the key points.

• A geographic information system is a set of computer-based tools that allows the user to
modify, visualize, query, and analyze geographic and tabular data.

• Crime mapping is the process of using a geographic information system to conduct spatial
analysis of crime problems and other police-related issues.

• The three main functions of crime mapping are (a) to facilitate visual and statistical analyses of
the spatial nature of crime and other types of events, (b) to enable analysts to link unlike data
sources together based on common geographic variables, and (c) to provide maps that help to
communicate analysis results.

• A GIS uses four types of geographic features to approximate real-world elements: points, lines,
polygons, and images.

• In single-symbol maps, individual uniform symbols represent features.

• Buffers are areas that represent specified proximate zones around features on a map.

• In graduated maps, the sizes or colors of features represent the values of the variables.

Chart maps, which can use either pie or bar charts, allow the illustration of several values within
a particular variable.

• In density maps, areas without boundaries are shaded according to the concentration of
incidents within them.

• The term interactive crime mapping does not refer to a type of mapping; rather, it refers to
simplified geographic information systems made available to novice users over the Internet.

• The beginnings of crime mapping are different from the beginnings of crime analysis in that
crime mapping began through the work of researchers (vs. Police) in the 1800s and the early
1900s.

• The first substantive spatial analysis of crime in the United States was conducted in the 1920s
and 1930s by urban sociologists in Chicago. This research focused on linking crime and
delinquency to factors such as social disorganization and poverty.

• In the 1970s and 1980s, improvements in technology and academic developments encouraged
the use of crime mapping in police agencies. However, the use of crime mapping did not increase
dramatically until the 1990s.
• Federal funding in the form of grants and the establishment of crime mapping centers,
improvements in technology and data collection, and the implementation of Comp stat in police
agencies across the United States fueled the rapid adoption of crime mapping in the mid- to late
1990s.

• Currently, most large police agencies use some form of crime mapping for one or more of the
following purposes: to provide officers and investigators with information on crime incident
locations, to make resource allocation (staffing) decisions, to evaluate interventions, to inform
citizens about crime in their neighborhoods, and to identify repeat calls for service and crime
locations.

• Crime mapping positions in police departments are sometimes separate from crime analysis
positions and in many cases have higher salaries because of the high level of training and
expertise required. Crime mapping positions are much rarer than general crime analysis
positions.

Learning Activity 1.

Using the Internet, a newspaper, a magazine, or any other things that obtain an example of a
map that displays crime information. List the following information about the map:

• Type of map (e.g., single symbol, graduated by size)

• Geographic area represented in the map (e.g., city, state, neighborhood)

• Data on the map (e.g., crime, population, accidents)

• Time period of the data (i.e., list dates)

• Creator of the map (e.g., agency and individual, if shown).

Thank you for completing the tasks in the activity. You can now proceed to answer the
assessment.

Assessment:

Discuss the following about the map: (minimum of 150 words each question).

1. What seems to be the purpose of the map?

2. Does the map seem to serve its purpose?

3. Is the map informative and helpful?

4. Does the map make sense?

 Congratulations for a job well done. You have successfully completed the activities and
the assessment of this unit. You can now proceed to the next level.