NCJ Number
184387
Date Published
January 1999
Length
3 pages
Publication Series
Annotation
The Crime Mapping Research Center of the National Institute of
Justice conducted a nationwide Crime Mapping Survey over 15
months to determine who uses geographical information systems
(GIS) and why other agencies are not using this mapping
technology.
Abstract
The survey was mailed in March 1997 to a sample of law
enforcement agencies in the United States. Sample agencies were
differentiated based on whether they employed more than 100 sworn
officers (n=871), of which all were sampled, or fewer than 100
sworn officers (n=16,486). The survey found that increasingly the
criminal justice community, specifically law enforcement
agencies, appreciate the value and benefits of crime mapping
applications and are implementing computerized crime mapping
systems to assist with daily operations. Eighty-four percent of
the departments that use crime mapping reported that their
leaders financially support mapping efforts, and 85 percent
reported that mapping is a valuable tool for the department.
Responding departments indicated that funding for mapping-related
efforts came primarily from the department's annual budget,
rather than Federal or State sources. The survey found that of
the departments that currently do not use crime mapping, 61
percent believe that software that requires minimal training
would be very useful. In addition, the National Institute of
Justice sponsored a crime mapping conference in 1997, the first
of its kind, which attracted 400 participants. 1 exhibit and 3
notes
Date Published: January 1, 1999