GIS and public safety and what is GIS

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GIS and public safety and what is GIS?

• J426 Class 2
• January 15, 2009

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Overview

• GIS for other public safety and other public
  sector applications
• Description/definition of geographic information
  systems
• Reasons for growth in interest, use of GIS
• Use of computers for mapping crime
• ESRI and ArcGIS

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GIS for other public safety and other public
service applications

• GIS methods used for crime analysis equally
  applicable to other public safety and, indeed,
  other public service applications
• Fire services
• Emergency management
• Public libraries

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Fire services

• Map locations of incidents
• Determine response times
• Use information for station location

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Fire service responses
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Response times
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Rescue, EMS incidents
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Fire, EMS response density
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Other public safety applications

• Wildfire fighting
• Emergency management
• Natural disasters
• Mapping extent of problem, determining people at
  risk
• FEMA HAZUS GIS-based tool for estimating
  potential losses from disasters
• Hazardous material incidents
• Determining population, sites at risk

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Other public services public libraries

• Have locations of library branches and residences
  of library patrons
• Much like locations of fire stations and
  locations of responses
• Following slides provide examples of GIS analysis
  of library patrons

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Patrons borrowing materials from Broad Ripple
Library
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One-, two-, and three-mile buffers around
libraries
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Two-mile buffers with population dot density map
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Percent of circulation videos by census tract
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Analysis of videocassette circulation by income
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Description/definition of geographic information
systems

• Geographic information system is much more than a
  map in a computer
• Geographic information system combines mapped
  information on geographic features or phenomena,
  such as the locations of criminal homicides in
  2003

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Criminal homicides in 2003 (on map)
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This mapped information is combined with

• Tabular information (attribute data) describing
  the geographic features or phenomena and linked
  to the information on the map, such as the
  homicides in 2003

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Criminal homicides in 2003 (attribute data in
table)
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The power of a geographic information system

• The GIS allows you to work with and use the
  geographic map information and the attribute data
  together to perform analyses

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Example of analytical capabilities

• For example, you cannot only see and count the
  number of UCR crimes in 2003 that occurred within
  1500 feet of the Shortridge Middle School

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Crimes within 1500 feet of Shortridge Middle
School
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Example of analytical capabilities

• You can select those crimes that occurred within
  1500 feet of the Shortridge Middle School (that
  fall within the 1500-foot buffer you created
  around the school)

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Crimes within 1500 feet of Shortridge Middle
School (selected, on map)
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Example of analytical capabilities

• And you can display the attribute data for those
  selected crimes that occurred within 1500 feet of
  the Shortridge Middle School

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Crimes within 1500 feet of Shortridge Middle
School (attribute data in table)
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Definition of GIS

• Definition by Duane Marble
• Geographic information system consists of
  following components
• Data input subsystem
• Data storage and retrieval subsystem
• Data manipulation and analysis subsystem
• Data reporting subsystem

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Data input subsystem

• Allows collection and processing of spatial and
  related attribute data...
• From paper maps
• From remotely-sensed data
• From digital data in other forms

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Data storage and retrieval

• Organizes spatial and related attribute data
• Allowing selection of subsets of data based on
  desired criteria...
• Allowing retrieval for subsequent analysis
• Allowing rapid and accurate updates and
  corrections

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Data manipulation and analysis

• Changes the form of data
• Providing for combination of existing data
• Creation of new data and information
• To answer questions for managers and policymakers

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Data reporting subsystem

• Providing for the display of both original data
  and data created by analysis...
• Providing output on the screen, on paper, and in
  other formats
• Producing output in both tabular and map form

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Comments on definition

• Similar to definitions of database management
  systems for nonspatial data
• Definition refers to simultaneous use of spatial
  and related attribute data
• Key to GIS is that it involves not only features
  on a map but other data associated with them
• Central to definition are analytical capabilities
  of GIS

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Ambiguities in term GIS

• Sometimes used to refer to software providing
  these capabilities, e.g., ArcGIS
• Also used to refer to combination of software and
  hardware
• Can refer to combination of software, hardware,
  and data used in GIS
• Can even include the organizational context in
  which the other elements are embedded

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What is not GIS

• It is not a program that can just display maps,
  like a street atlas program
• It is not a program that can just display data on
  maps
• It is not just a program that allows the creation
  of maps, like CAD or cartography
• GIS can do all this, but it can also create new
  information through analysis

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Reasons for growth in interest, use of GIS

• More powerful and cheaper computers
• Easier-to-use and cheaper software
• Availability of data at reasonable cost

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More powerful computers

• GIS requires extensive processing power
• Work that had required mainframes or minis can
  now be done on PCs
• VAX 11/780 first of Digitals 32-bit minis
• Became standard for comparing processing power
• Installed as one of IUPUIs 2 systems in 1980
• Current PCs hundreds of times more powerful

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Easier-to-use software

• GIS software of 1980s
• Ran on mainframes, minis, workstations
• Complex, used command-line interface
• GIS software on PCs in 1990s
• PC users would not tolerate complexity, cost
• Software written for graphical user interface
• Prices reduced from the multiple thousands of
  dollars for mini, workstation GIS software

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Availability of data

• Creating data for GIS involves costly digitizing
  of geographic data
• 1990 Census brought availability of TIGER files
  and census data for entire U.S.
• Increasing use of GIS broadened market for GIS
  data, brought in vendors providing data at
  ever-decreasing prices

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Use of computers in mapping crime

• First application of computers for mapping crime
  by St. Louis Police Department in 1970s using
  primitive computer mapping software
• Widespread computer mapping of crime emerged in
  1990s with availability of desktop GIS software

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Spread of crime mapping in 1990s

• National Institute of Justice sponsored programs,
  provided information to assist law enforcement
  agencies in adopting crime mapping
  http//www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/maps/
• New York City CompStat program made extensive use
  of crime mapping, obtained wide publicity

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Compstat process

• Originated NYPD, 1994
• Dominant objective was reducing crime rates
• Designed to hold precinct/district commanders
  responsible for reduction of crime in their areas
• Relies on crime statistics and mapping

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Compstat process

• In NYPD, biweekly meetings between department
  executives, precinct commanders
• Precinct commanders regularly report on crime in
  their precincts, efforts to reduce crime
• Focuses authority and accountability on precinct
  commanders

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ESRI and ArcGIS

• You will be learning the ArcView 9 GIS software
  that is part of the ArcGIS 9 family of geographic
  information system software produced by ESRI
• ArcGIS includes
• ArcView
• ArcEditor
• ArcInfo

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History of ESRI GIS software ArcInfo

• Began offering ArcInfo in 1980s
• Complex, powerful GIS software
• Ran on UNIX workstations
• Became the most widely-used high-end GIS software
• Province of GIS professionals

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Introduction of ArcView

• Growing use of PCs in 1990s led to demand for GIS
  on desktop
• PC GIS software from MapInfo, Atlas
• ESRI introduced ArcView 1.0 as viewer for data
  from ArcInfo, not what people wanted
• ESRI expands ArcView to more complete desktop GIS
  program with 2.x and 3.x
• Becomes most widely used GIS software

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ArcGIS

• ArcGIS 8 merged ArcInfo and ArcView under
  completely new user interface
• ArcGIS runs only under Windows NT/2000/XP/Vista
• ArcGIS 9 followed
• Latest version of the ArcGIS software is version
  9.3