Analysis Of Crime Mapping And The Strategy Of Hot Spot Policing

This paper will be looking at Crime Mapping and the strategy of using hot spot policing to reduce auto theft crime rates. It will include what social disorganization theory is and connecting Social Disorganization theory to hot spots and to see how they correlate with one another. Compstat will also be discussed and how the use of it has allowed the police department to focus on higher crime areas. Police are always looking for ways to better use resources and reduce crime rates. Crime mapping has allowed them to focus their efforts and use techniques that they feel is best to conquer the problem such as hot spot policing or problem oriented policing. The point of this research is to take a look at whether or not the availability of technology

Department of Justice Office of Justice programs 1999). Police departments are constantly trying to improve the crime rate and create safer places for citizens. As years go by, new technology like this is crucial in helping them achieve that goal. These improvements like crime mapping allow for police departments to understand where crime comes from and to allocate their resources efficiently. Crime mapping starts with the first stage of data collection through to the monitoring and evaluation of any targeted response. Then begins the recording and mapping of police activity, crime reductions projects, calls for service and crime incidents. Crime mapping helps officers by identifying crimes that have recently occured and predicting where crime may occur in the future.(Chainey, S., & Ratcliffe, J. (2005). Gis and crime mapping. Wiley).Computer aided technology helps to show crimes on a map with options of making it more detailed, e.g selecting the time of day, location, crime subtype. Identifying crime hotspots for targeting, deploying and allocating suitable crime reductions responses. Helping to effectively understand crime distribution, and to explore the mechanisms, dynamics and generators to criminal activity, through pattern analysis with other local data. Monitoring the impact of crime reduction initiatives and using maps as a medium to communicate to the public crime statistics for their area and the initiatives that are being implemented to tackle crime problems.(Chainey, S., & Ratcliffe, J. (2005). Gis and crime mapping. Wiley). Crime mapping has become an important asset to police and their goal of reducing