Social Science Computer Review: Symposium on Crime Mapping
Ronald Wilson, ed.
Volume 25, No. 2, Summer 2007
Crime mapping continues to help criminal
justice practitioners and researchers perform
higher quality, more efficient, more
responsive work. Geographic information
systems (GIS) and spatial data analysis
techniques are well-established tools for
analyzing criminal behavior and its effect
on the criminal justice system and society.
In a special issue of the Social Science
Computer Review, experts discuss the
history of crime mapping and the software
advancements that shape the current
field. Edited by Ronald Wilson, program
manager of the National Institute of
Justice’s Mapping and Analysis for Public
Safety Program and Data Resources, this
journal issue explores the “automation of
geography” through software and how
it enables law enforcement to better
understand the spatial elements of crime.
Topics include the use of GIS and other
spatial analysis software programs to:
- Visualize the distribution of sex offenders.
- Study crime around substance abuse treatment centers.
- Examine the travel patterns of bank robbers.
- Explore local crime patterns in urban areas.
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