This book provides an introductory overview of the use of geospatial technologies in crime investigation and litigation; its target audience is researchers, practitioners, and students; and it includes real case studies and current information on legal considerations.
The purpose of this book is to explain the nature of geospatial technologies, demonstrate a wide variety of geospatial applications used to investigate and litigate civil and criminal activities, and to provide a reference of current acceptability of geospatial technology in the production of evidence. The book provides an introductory overview of the subject, designed to appeal to researchers and practitioners from various disciplines. The authors of the chapters are experts in their fields, and the book contains the following sections: an overview of concepts, principles of definitions; geospatial technologies in the courtroom; spatial tracking applications; spatial technology applications; and case studies. The nine case studies presented are: using near repeat analysis for investigating mortgage fraud and predatory lending; state registration of sex offenders – public notification, web mapping, and spatial issues; the SDIK (Science, Data, Intelligence, Knowledge) police model – how to make the invisible visible; spatial analysis of fear of crime and police calls for service – an example and implications for community policing; using GIS (Geographic Information System) to monitor and investigate police use of force – the spatial distribution of force factors; mapping spatiotemporal patterns of liquor law violation citations during Oktoberfest in college town of La Crosse, Wisconsin; a web-based GIS for crime mapping and decision support; use of geographically weighted regression on ecology of crime, response to hurricane in Miami, Florida; and delineating legal forest boundaries to combat illegal forest encroachments – a case study in Murree Forrest Division, Pakistan.