Homeland Security: DC Crime

Things are moving right along in GIS 4048.  This week we moved on from natural disasters and onto Homeland Security.  The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created shortly after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.  Today, the DHS is tasked with the protection of the United States and it's territories in the event of a terrorist attack, man-made disaster, and natural disasters.  According to the DHS website, their mission statement says "The vision of homeland security is to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards."  DHS shares it responsibilities with the citizens of the US, ensuring that every town, city, and state is prepared for such disasters.  This week we are focusing on the city of Washington D.C. and how GIS benefits it in the area of crime.

Map 1 is a depiction of all reported crimes for the month of January 2011.  The bar graph helps to illustrate the number of crimes.

Map 1

Map 2 uses spatial analysis to show the number of crimes committed in each police station precinct.  This type of analysis can aid the department in determining where new police stations might be needed.

Map 2

Map 3 shows a side by side comparison of specific crime density as determined using the Kernel Density tool.

Map 3

Case Study - Better Policing through Analysis: Ogden Police Take Advantage of GIS in Real Time

Title:  Case Study - Better Policing through Analysis: Ogden Police Take Advantage of GIS in Real Time Crime Center

Author:  Jessica Williams

Date:  6/20/2013

            In the city of Ogden, Utah, the Ogden Police Department (OPD) is tasked with the suppression, detection and investigation of crime; however, they also wanted a way to identify areas where crimes might occur based on previous crime patterns and reports.  For over a decade now, the OPD had been using a combination of Esri GIS software, CAD, and collected data to track where crime was committed in the city.  They collected data from various other departments, but were only analyzing data on a monthly basis.  This analysis was given to the upper command to further analyze the information to determine needs.  All of the pieces need where in place; however they were not being used in an efficient manner.  To further enhance law enforcement capability throughout the force, the Real Time Crime Center (RTCC) was developed to bring data from all departments into one place, making it available for those analysts in the office, and providing a means for disseminating that analysis to those officers out on the streets, giving them real-time statistics on a daily basis.

            Microsoft Fusion Core Solution (FCS) was used to combine all the data from the various departmental sources, including local warrants, criminal history, jail data, property information, affidavits and more.  And, since FCS was developed in collaboration with Esri, the data stored is easily available to display using standard mapping sources.  With data combined in one place now, the analyst in the RTCC  have created automatic queries to run and can use the existing crime data, surveillance cameras, and vehicle tracking data in conjunction with Esri ArcMap to identify crime hot spots.  By identifying these hot spots, the OPD can focus on where to station patrol cars and increase police presence in the higher crime areas.  Hot spots may vary depending on the time day and through the use of the automatic queries, these changing hot spots can be identified in an efficient manner.

            In conclusion, the Ogden Police Department was able to take information previously collected and analyzed on a monthly basis and through the use of Esri software and servers, ArcGIS online, Microsoft Fusion Core Solution and Microsoft SharePoint servers, disseminate analyzed, real time data and information to the decision makers in the office and to the officers in the field.  Real time data dissemination allows the OPD to make informed decisions when it comes to protecting its citizens.

Hurricane Sandy

This week we focused our study on the natural hazard of hurricanes, specifically Hurricane Sandy which struck the eastern seaboard of New Jersey and New York City on October 29, 2012.  Hurricane Sandy, while only a Category 1 hurricane, was a very large storm.  At its maximum size, it reached across 870 nautical miles (1.15 nautical miles = 1 mile).  My first map this week shows the path that Tropical Storm/Hurricane Sandy took from its formation in the Caribbean Sea to its landfall on the eastern seaboard.

My second map this week shows a before and after section of Toms River Township, NJ.  Damage assessment was determined using the Swipe tool in ArcMap.

Japan Tsunami

On March 11, 2011, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake centered just off the coast north east Japan created a tsunami that resulted in massive destruction of both property and lives.  Perhaps the most dangerous result of the tsunami was the damage and subsequent nuclear disaster that occurred at the Fukushima II nuclear power plant.  This weeks lab depicts the evacuation areas that were directly affected by the meltdown.  I really enjoyed making this map.  It allowed me to learn more the disaster and how GIS is used to assist in the recovery.