"GIS AND PUBLIC SAFETY"
Using GIS to Support Emergency Response and Crime Analysis

The following sections provide brief summaries, in outline form, of the main points presented by the listed speakers at the April 7, 1998 meeting of the Massachusetts Geographic Information Council (MGIC). 

Moderator - Julie Sweitzer of MassGIS

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Presentation by Peter Ostroskey, Training Director, Statewide Emergency Telecommunications Board
"The Massachusetts Enhanced 9-1-1 Program"

Peter presented an overview of the State's E-911 program and explained how the E-911 system works.

Enabling Legislation passed 12/90

• 21-member board, run by Executive Office of Public Safety (EOPS), a municipally-drive system using local infrastructure
• public safety officials
• people with disabilities
• consumer representatives
• Volunatary participation by all 351 towns in Massachusetts
• Standards by 7/92
• Municipal plan by 7/93
• Implementation in 2/94

Funding

• 34 cents per call after 10 calls (exceptions - senior citizens, disabled persons)

Basic vs. Enhanced 911:

BASIC 911	----->	TALK PATH
ENHANCED 911	----->	TALK PATH + data stream (address and phone number)

Timeline

• At time of first implementation - 10 towns in Central Mass. (2/7/94)
• Only 1/3 of state had basic 911
• First E911 in 2/94
• E911 completed in 9/97
• 264 communication centers (PSAP - Public Safety Answering Point - where someone answers the telephone)

Operation

• 911 call to Bell Atlantic tandem switch via dual tandems and routing tandem IDs to the proper PSAP
• At PSAP - database dip -- displayed on screen are date and time, name, phone number, address,community, DHH (disability indicator, voluntary by user, submitted locally)


Operation/Call Flow Diagram:

Database Development

• Jointly by Bell Atlantic and municipalities
• Municipalities verified and returned data to Bell Atlantic
• Repeated process depending on complexity (all at least 98% accurate, most 100% accurate)

Issues dealt with:

• No duplicate street names allowed (village boundaries OK)
• Final data entered into 911 database
• Updated daily via telephone service orders
• Municipalities responsible for changes
• Yearly verification between Bell Atlantic and municipalities
• Cellular phone calls handled like basic 911

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Contact Information:
Statewide Telecommunications Board
25 Haverhill St., P.O. Box 156
Reading, MA 01867 

Phone: (781) 944-9113 

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Presentation by James Richards, Planet One GIS Software
"Emergency Response GIS"

James presented a GIS E-911 Dispatcher application.  This application uses GIS to provide emergency call takers with information about the caller's location, what to expect at the site, proximity of hydrants, property photographs, floor plans, hazardous materials, abutters, real-time vehicle locations, fastest route maps, and more.

Overview

• Typical Emergency Response GIS Scenarios
• What GIS Data are Available for Emergency Response
• How is GIS Integrated into PSAP Operations
• Overview of E911 Dispatcher Software
• Conclusions

Typical Emergency Response GIS Scenarios

• Where is the caller’s address?
• Where is the cell caller?
• Where is the incident in relation to the caller?
• How do I get to an incident?

GIS Enables Decision Support

• Incident Location
• Routing
• Site Information
• Links to Databases

What GIS Data are Available for Emergency Response

• Geographic Events (Incidents, Vehicle Locations)
• Street Network
• Address Data
• Base Data (Hydrology, Landmarks, Political Boundaries)

Types of Address Data

• Building Points with Addresses
• Street Centerlines with Address Ranges
• Building Footprints with Addresses
• Parcels with Address

How is GIS Integrated into PSAP Operations

• Typical 9-1-1 Call Flow:

Caller

->

Telephone or E911 network

->

Caller-ID or ANI/ALI connected to GIS workstation

• GIS Integrated with 9-1-1 Hardware
• Automatic Number Interface/Automatic Location Interface (ANI/ALI)
• Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) Port Interface
• GIS Integrated with 9-1-1 Software
• Call Taking Software
• CAD Software

E911 Dispatcher Software Capabilities

• What is E911 Dispatcher
• A GIS Application Written Specifically for Emergency Response
• An Application Built Upon ESRI’s ArcView GIS Engine
• An Advanced and User Friendly Emergency Response GIS Application
• Typical Where Functionality
• Where is the location of an address…
• Where is the location of a cellular caller...
• Where are my units…
• Where is the closest fire hydrant...
• Typical What Functionality
• What is at the location of the incident
• What is the pre-plan for this location
• What is the capacity of the closest fire hydrant
• What are the hazardous chemicals at this location
• Typical Analysis Functionality
• Show me the fastest suggested route…
• What is the address of a nearby location…
• Show me all of the active incidents…
• Why are all these incidents in the same area…

James then showed the following demonstrations:

• Find a Caller’s Location
• Find the Fastest Suggested Route
• Obtain More Information
• Search By Owner
• Examine the Overview
• Link to an AVL System
• A Complete Example

Conclusions

• GIS Solves Emergency Response Problems that Other Systems Cannot
• GIS Provides Unique and Robust Analysis and Information Capabilities
• GIS Aids in Decision Support
• GIS Provides Access to Many Layers of Data and Information
• GIS Can Be Integrated Into Existing PSAP Operations
• E911 Dispatcher is a GIS Application for Aiding Emergency Response

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Contact Information:

Planet One GIS Software  210 Beech Ridge Road  Scarborough, ME 04074

Phone: (207) 774-0642
Fax: (207) 774-6635
Website: http://www.planetonegis.com/pages/default.htm
 

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Presentation by Richard Sevieri and Christopher Bruce, Cambridge, MA Police Department's Crime Analysis Unit
"GIS and Crime Analysis in the City of Cambridge"

Richard and Christopher demonstrated how they are using GIS to identify, analyze and publicize city-wide crime patterns.  They also discussed some of the problems they have encountered while using GIS in this capacity.

Crime Analysis

• A set of systematic, analytical processes ...
• ... directed at providing timely and pertinent information ...
• ... relative to crime aptterns, series, and trends
• ... to assist patrol officers and investigators inplanning the deployment of resources

GIS and Policing

• Factors behind the rapid growth in the use of mapping software in law enforcement
• Decreasing costs of personal computers
• Decreasing costas and increasing sophistication of mapping software
• Increasing availability of demographic data
• Need to improve perforemance while controlling costs
• Effective in supporting crime prevention and community policing

GIS and Crime Analysis

• A primitive form of GIS was used long ago, before the advent of computers, to graphically depict the occurence of crime.
• Pins, dots, or stickers on paper maps were the convention
• In many ways, these "primitive" methods were just as effective as today's advanced systems

Mapping Crime Locations

• Simplest use of GIS in Crime Analysis ...
• ... though really the only use of GIS, at present, by the Cambridge Police Department
• Best for pattern and series analysis
• Simple pinmaps make frequent appearances in the Daily Crime Bulletin, a report published by the Cambridge Police Department

Showing Density of Crimes

• Offers an aggregate look at where crimes are happening, without subjecting the audience to a multitude of dots
• Best for trend analysis

Combining Data fromMultiple Sources

• Shows correllation between related crime factors
• Good for series, pattern, and trend analysis

Combining data from multiple sources

Using Multiple Data Layers ...
Crimes	Arrests	Offender Data & Photos	Victim Data
Calls for  Service	Probation & Parolee  Addresses	Sexual Offender Registry	Liquor Stores & Bars
Gang  Territories	Public  Transport	Crime Watch Boundaries	Drug Clinics
Shelters	Public  Housing	Schools & Recreational Areas	Vacant lots/ abanoned buildings

Identifying Hot Spots

• Computer programs show locations where patrol is most needed based on density of "pins"

Proximity Maps

• Used for specific applications, usually involving some statute. Examples:
• Registered sexual offenders within .5 miles of a residence
• Incidents of drug use within 1000 feet of a school

Daily Crime Bulletin

• Printed 3-5 times a week, distributed before evening roll call
• Created in Microsoft Word, with MapInfo or ArcView maps as exported as metafiles
• Integrates maps with pattern and series analysis
• Newsletter style
• Maps also used in annual and quarterly crime reports

Compstat

• The use of crime statistics and GIS pinmapping at regular meetings of key personnel to direct proactive enforcement strategies.

- Hot concept in policing - NYPD credits it with "why we're winning the war against crime."

Problems with GIS and Crime Analysis

• NIJ finds that the majority of police departments that have purchased GIS mapping systems and software are using it very little or not at all
• Very high learning curve for software
• Application specific training not provided or is expensive
• National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Solution - calling for neighboring departments to share technology and expertise in order to defray costs and lessen the learning curves associated with mapping

Innovations in GIS and Crime Analysis

• User-Friendly Front Ends
• Redlands, CA police - "CrimeView 1.0"
• Information Collection for Automated Mapping (ICAM) - an easy-to-use computerized mapping program designed to help Chicago police officers in analyzing and solving neighborhood crime problems.
• Example of interface:


• C.O.M.P.A.S.S.
• Cross-Jurisdictional Offender, Mapping, and Pattern Analysis and Support System
• Concept: A county-wideintranet linking police departments and other agencies.  Includes customized mapping interface that can be used to map crimes by region in Massachusetts.

The Future of GIS & Policing

• Consortium of Departments in California will participate in development process of an easy-to-use integrated approach to GIS via a data browser
• operated by GUI - menus, buttons, tools
• assist beat officers in understanding crime patterns in support of community policing
• built-in predictive and forecasting models
• An additional group of 10 -12 consortiums around the country will be invited to participate

National Institute of Justice Crime Mapping Research Center

• The Crime Mapping Research Center promotes the research and development of crime mapping through:
• Research, including fellowships, intramural activities, and NIJ-funded grant awards
• Evaluation of best practices, GIS use in police departments, and current criminal jutice applications and needs
• Development of training programs, a national geocoded data archive, and new analytical software
• Dissemination of informaiton through conferences, workshops, websites, and a listserv
• NIJ established the Crime Mapping Research Center with funds available under the technology assistance provisions of the 1996 Omnibus Appropriations Act amending the 1994 Crime Act
• Partnership between NIJ's Office of Science and Technology.  CMRC is headquartered at the NIJ in Washington, D.C.
• CMRC website: http://www.nlectc.org/cmrc
• NIJ web site: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/
• To subscribe to the Crime Map List Server, send an e-mail message to listproc@aspensys.com with "Subscribe Crimemap [Your Name]" in the body

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Contact Information:

Richard E. Sevieri  Senior Crime Analyst  E-mail: rsevieri@ps.ci.cambridge.ma.us	Christopher W. Bruce  Crime Analyst  E-mail: cbruce@ps.ci.cambridge.ma.us
Cambridge Police Department  5 Western Avenue  Cambridge, MA 02139
Phone: (617) 349-3390  Website: http://www.ci.cambridge.ma.us/~CPD/Departments/CA.html

Last Updated 4/19/2000
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