Volume 1 Issue 2 | July 2008

Public Safety

Geography

A Quarterly Bulletin of Applied Geography for the Study of Crime & Public Safety

On Traffic Safety and Law Enforcement 

Ned Levine, Ph.D.

Ned Levine and Associates

Houston, Texas

Traffic safety education and enforcement are unappreciated and undervalued aspects of modern policing. The vast majority of crashes are caused by driver behavior; yet, 

these issues are not often given a prominent position in an agency’s hierarchy or featured 

prominently in the image the agency projects to the public. Even a cursory examination of 

public safety statistics shows its importance:

 The number of traffic crashes in the United States is almost equal to the number of 

total reported crimes. In 2005, 10.7 million crashes and 11.6 million crimes were 

reported. (National Safety Council, 2007; Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2006). 

 The number of fatalities from drunk driving crashes is almost equal to the number of 

homicides. In 2006, 15,827 persons were killed in crashes in which one or more drivers 

had been drinking and 17,034 persons were killed from murder or nonnegligent 

manslaughter (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2008; Federal Bureau 

of Investigation, 2006). 

Law enforcement officers devote significant time and energy to dealing with traffic safety—

from managing crash scenes and filling out crash reports to creating strategies to reduce 

crash rates. While federal, state, and local governments regularly place their resources in 

roadway engineering and in emergency services, they devote fewer resources and less time 

on public outreach to promote traffic safety education and enforcement. 

Drunk driving is the most important safety problem for officers to target. In 2006, about 

37 percent of all motor vehicle fatalities in the U.S. were caused by crashes in which one or 

more drivers had been drinking (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2008). 

Excessive speeding also causes many crashes—close to 30 percent of all motor vehicle 

fatalities in 2005 were associated with speeding (National Safety Council, 2007). Young 

drivers are also represented disproportionately in motor vehicle crashes. After these principal 

safety problems come others including red light running, truck safety, distracted driving, 

and aggressive driving. Law enforcement plays a critical role in combating these problems, 

by enforcing traffic safety and supporting other activities to improve safety on the roads. 

Geographic information systems (GIS) and other information technologies can help police 

enforce traffic safety. While police departments have long used GIS for crime mapping, 

few departments in the United States use it for law enforcement. Articles in this issue of 

Geography and Public Safety discuss how GIS technologies can be used for traffic safety 

analysis. Tom Beretich discusses how maps have been used to examine drunk driving in 

Albuquerque, New Mexico, and provides an important example of how well-designed 

maps can influence public policy. Jeff Kaufman examines a GIS-based spatial information 

Contents

1 On Traffic Safety and Law 

Enforcement

3 Creating a Safer Houston 

through Crash Mapping

5 Mapping Programs Target 

Alcohol-Impaired Driving

8 COPS Office Funds a 

Web-Based Application to 

Examine Drunk Driving

9 Technical Tips: Creating 

Base Maps and Layer 

Files for Cartographic 

Consistency

11 Idaho’s Statistical Analysis 

Center Helps State Police 

Solve Personnel Allocation 

Problem

15 Resources: Traffic Safety 

and Law Enforcement

13 News Briefs

17 Crime News Events 2008
22

G&PS | June 2008

system that was developed in Houston, Texas, 

by the regional transportation planning 

agency to identify crash hot spots, initiate 

safety engineering projects, and develop law 

enforcement strategies. Another article describes 

how an Idaho center used statistical analysis to 

advise state patrolling practices, and a technical 

piece assists GIS users with common tasks. 

Law enforcement plays a critical role in 

supporting traffic safety. I hope that this issue 

will facilitate law enforcement’s and other 

agencies’ interest in focusing analyses on traffic 

safety issues. 

References 

Federal Bureau of Investigation. Crime in 

the United States, 2006. Washington, D.C.: 

Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of 

Investigation, 2007. www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2006/

data/table_01.html

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration. Traffic Safety Facts 2006 

Data: Alcohol-Impaired Driving. Washington, 

D.C.: National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration, 2008. 

National Safety Council, Injury Facts: 2007 

Edition, Itasca, Illinois: National Safety 

Council, 2007, pp. 86–90. 

Creating a Safer 

Houston through 

Crash Mapping

Jeff Kaufman

Houston-Galveston Area Council

Houston, Texas

The Need for Crash Mapping

Traffic safety is often overlooked in the United States. In 2006, police reported 

nearly 6 million motor vehicle crashes 

nationwide. These crashes resulted in 2.6 

million injuries and more than 40,000 deaths. 

In addition, 4.2 million crashes resulted in 

property damage.1

 Each year, motor vehicle 

crashes kill 2.5 times as many people as murder 

and nonnegligent manslaughter.2 These numbers 

should be considered an epidemic, and it is 

necessary that researchers investigate why they 

happen and find ways to remedy the problem.

Federal transportation law requires states to 

collect data on motor vehicle accidents (crash 

data) to identify safety problems and determine 

appropriate solutions.3 Once those data have 

been collected, however, researchers often 

disagree about the most effective way to use 

the data. For instance, the Houston, Texas, 

metropolitan area averages approximately 

100,000 serious crashes a year. Trying to analyze 

this quantity of data in a strictly tabular database 

(such as Microsoft Access) is a daunting task, 

even for the simplest of queries. But a process 

called “crash mapping” can make it simpler. By 

determining geographic locations of crashes (i.e., 

mapping crashes), the time needed to conduct 

safety analyses can be reduced from days to 

minutes.

The Benefits of Crash Mapping 

Crash mapping allows officers to visualize 

where traffic safety improvements are needed. 

Safety planners, engineers, and police can use 

mapping to pinpoint locations where crashes 

occur most frequently and target their efforts 

to mitigate the problem. With the use of 

geospatial analysis tools such as CrimeStat4, 

researchers can aggregate crashes on a map to 

identify potential hot spots or larger areas with 

a high crash incidence.

Road intersections tend to be prime locations 

for motor vehicle collisions, so identifying 

intersections with a high crash incidence 

becomes essential for traffic safety analysts. 

Mapping crash data and using a geographic 

information system allow analysts to identify 

and select crashes that have taken place in a 

certain intersection. This selection becomes 

important when analysts work with intersectionrelated crashes that are recorded not at the 

intersection of two streets but at a nearby 

address. A tabular search would fail to identify 

those crashes. 

According to the National Highway 

Traffic Safety Administration, however, the 
3

overwhelming majority of fatal crashes occur 

not at the intersection of two roads but 

somewhere along a roadway, especially on 

heavily traveled freeways. Entire roadways 

can be analyzed through a geographic 

information system. Urban roads, especially 

those with a large commercial presence, will 

have multiple access points without any 

associated traffic control devices. They create 

many opportunities for crashes because 

of the high volume of traffic entering and 

exiting at these points. Using geospatial 

crash data allows analysts to assess what 

factors contribute to crashes and examine 

highway layout. 

Safety problems may not be restricted to a 

single location or stretch of road but may 

involve an entire neighborhood or commercial 

district. These hot spots are small areas where 

crashes are concentrated. Hot spots may 

indicate a larger problem. A simple geographic 

information system may not analyze hot spots 

effectively because it cannot differentiate 

among multiple crashes that occur at a single 

location. A program like CrimeStat allows 

analysts to count and aggregate geographic 

data and identify those locations. 

The Houston Traffic Safety 

Program 

Transportation planning in the Houston, 

Texas, metropolitan area is the task of 

the Houston-Galveston Area Council 

(H–GAC). The H–GAC began the 

development of a geographic information 

system-based crash information system in 

2001. Before then, Houston, like other 

areas in Texas, used a tabular database 

containing crash records from the Crash 

Records Bureau of the Texas Department 

of Public Safety. This tabular system 

required officers to abbreviate the locations 

of crashes because of space limitations in 

the database.

When developing the geographic information 

system, officers translated these abbreviated 

location names into identifiable descriptions 

that could then be geocoded. The effort 

resulted in an 81 percent geocoding rate for 

more than 330,000 records between 1998 and 

2001. As a result of this geocoding effort, the 

H–GAC was able to establish a regional traffic 

safety program to address transportationrelated safety issues within its jurisdiction. 

The program set three goals:

1. Identify and monitor safety. 

At the time of the Houston traffic 

safety program’s conception, little 

attention was paid to transportation 

safety issues in the region. The local 

governments could not identify 

local safety problems. Although the 

Texas Department of Transportation 

(TxDOT) monitored the roads under 

its jurisdiction, this represented only a 

fraction of the region’s road system. The 

geocoding effort allowed the H–GAC 

to work with communities to identify 

problem locations and analyze causes.

2. Implement safety improvements 

at hazardous locations. Upon 

identifying locations where crashes 

frequently occurred, the H–GAC met 

with local governments and residents 

to develop solutions, including the 

following: 

 Conducted preliminary 

engineering studies of highaccident intersections in Houston, 

Pasadena, Galveston, and Sugar 

Land. These studies helped 

communities review how well 

intersections were laid out, 

whether traffic signals functioned 

properly, how well traffic signs 

were used, and other intersection 

issues. The studies also provided 

suggestions for improvements. 

 Conducted access management 

studies with TxDOT and 

communities near roadways 

where a high incidence of 

crashes took place. These studies 

examined issues such as land 

use, travel speeds, driveway 

access, turning options, and the 

functioning of traffic signals. 

Researchers wanted to find ways 

to lower the number of locations 

where crashes might occur.5

Figure 1: Approximately 420 DUI-related serious crashes occurred in a 3-year period in 

the area around Houston’s Galleria. Many restaurants, sports bars, and adult entertainment 

establishments in the Galleria area serve alcohol, which may contribute to the high incidence 

of crashes. The figure shows DUI hot spots generated from an analysis.

DUI Hot Spots—Houston Galleria and Adjacent Areas, 1999–2001

Frequency

DUI Hot Spots

Legend
44

G&PS | June 2008

 Worked with the Houston Police 

Department (HPD) to identify 

locations with a high incidence of 

red-light running. These studies 

helped determine the placement of 

red-light enforcement cameras. 

3. Support other safety efforts. Many 

people view traffic safety as a road 

engineering problem—solutions may 

focus on roadway design issues such 

as lane widths or medians, or traffic 

signal problems (e.g., yellow lights that 

are timed too short, or a lack of traffic 

signs to warn drivers.) Crash analysis, 

however, shows that the majority of 

crashes have a behavioral component 

that engineering cannot fix. For 

instance, the H–GAC’s analysis showed 

the following:

 39 percent of crashes in the region 

were speed related (i.e., involved 

excessive speed or a failure to 

control speed). 

 20 percent of crashes involved a 

failure to yield. 

 19 percent of crashes involved 

running a stop sign or a red light. 

 21 percent of crashes involved 

inexperienced teen drivers. 

 7 percent of crashes involved 

driving under the influence (DUI).

 Nearly 50 percent of the region’s 

auto fatalities were due to DUI. 

In light of these statistics, officers recognized 

that a comprehensive approach was needed 

to combat the traffic safety problem. They 

realized that this approach should include 

not only engineers but law enforcement, 

the medical community, advocacy groups, 

the trucking sector, bicycle and pedestrian 

planners, and researchers. 

Creating the Houston Regional 

Safety Council 

In February 2006, the H–GAC launched a 

Regional Safety Council to provide a forum 

for practitioners to take an interdisciplinary 

approach to traffic safety issues. Based in 

part on crash data analysis, the council 

created five areas of focus and established a 

subcommittee for each: aggressive driving, 

reducing DUI crashes, freight safety, 

bicycle/pedestrian/child safety, and safety 

information systems. These subcommittees 

Figure 2. A crash analysis map of locations where drivers commonly run red lights. 

The Houston Police Department used the map when installing red-light cameras.

Red Light Crashes

Frequency: 

1–15

16–30

31–45

46–62

Red-Light Running Crashes, 1999–2001
5

have developed approaches to help increase 

traffic safety in Houston.

Examples of these initiatives include the 

following:

 Develop an urban safety corridor, 

an approach to improve safety on 

roadways with a history of significant 

collisions through low-cost engineering 

improvements (e.g., lane restriping, 

traffic signs, traffic signal optimization) 

and increased traffic enforcement.

 Create a NO–ZONE campaign to 

inform drivers of blind spots on trucks.

 Create a program to allow drivers to 

dial *DWI on cell phones to report 

suspected drunk drivers.

 Start a bilingual commercial driver’s 

license educational outreach program.

 Host two regional safety conferences 

and develop a statewide conference.

Although these initiatives are still in 

development, the council’s presence has 

created a critical dialog on traffic safety. 

Author’s Note 

Geographic information systems provide 

an efficient, visual approach to analyzing 

traffic safety. Traffic data can be compared 

with information about high-travel 

times, roadway configurations, or nearby 

liquor establishments. Analysts can use 

this information to target areas for safety 

projects or identify hazards that lead to 

certain types of crashes. In addition, the 

visual displays created by geographic 

information systems allow decisionmakers and the general public to see and 

understand the problem, giving officers the 

consent they need to take action. 

Currently, Houston is one of only a few 

metropolitan areas in the United States 

taking this approach to traffic safety. For 

more information about the H–GAC’s 

Traffic Safety Program, see: http://www.

h-gac.com/trafficsafety. 

Notes

1 National Center for Statistics and Analysis. 

Traffic Safety Facts, 2006 Data. Washington, 

D.C.: National Highway Transportation Safety 

Administration, March 2008. 

2 Federal Bureau of Investigation. Crime in the 

United States, 2006. Washington, D.C.: Federal 

Bureau of Investigation, September 2007. 

3 Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP), 23 

U.S.C. § 148. 

4Ned Levine & Associates. CrimeStat: A Spatial 

Statistics Program for the Analysis of Crime Incident 

Locations (v 3, 1). Houston, Texas: Ned Levine & 

Associates; Washington, D.C.: National Institute of 

Justice, March 2007.

5 Solutions may include eliminating multiple driveways 

that lead to a property, constructing medians, and 

preventing left turns at certain locations.

6 Houston-Galveston Area Council. State of Safety 

in the Region: Report of the Regional Safety Council 

2007. Houston, Texas: Houston-Galveston Area 

Council, February 2007.

Motor vehicle accidents continue to be the leading cause of death 

for Americans between ages 1 and 

44, and alcohol plays a large role in 

many of these fatalities.1 In 2005, 39 

percent of all motor vehicle fatalities 

were alcohol related, making impaired 

driving the most frequently committed 

violent crime in the United States.2

Stopping drunk driving requires 

a community policing effort with 

local solutions and cooperation 

among many community members, 

including law enforcement, public 

officials, liquor compliance agencies, 

judges, and community activists. 

Many metropolitan law enforcement 

agencies designate personnel to 

address impaired driving, and most 

urban agencies have used geospatial 

analysis tools for crime mapping, 

but few agencies of any size are 

applying geographical principles to 

preventing driving while intoxicated 

(DWI). Providing local law 

enforcement agencies with visual 

tools to identify and analyze DWI 

hot spots can help agencies allocate 

resources and significantly influence 

traffic safety policy decisions. 

Using Crime Mapping As 

a Public Awareness Tool 

The DWI Resource Center in 

Albuquerque, New Mexico, was 

formed to reduce the social and 

economic impact of drunk driving 

through research, public awareness, 

education, and prevention programs. 

In November 2005, the center 

conducted a survey of Albuquerque 

neighborhood associations to 

determine the general public’s 

awareness of local DWI issues. The 

survey results were surprising—

most citizens identified DWI as a 

significant problem in Albuquerque, 

but few believed it was a problem in 

their own neighborhood.

Mapping Programs Target Alcohol-Impaired Driving

Tom Beretich

DWI Resource Center

Albuquerque, New Mexico
66

G&PS | June 2008

To counter inaccurate public perceptions, the 

center created a series of maps that showed the 

location of alcohol-involved crashes, liquor 

outlets, and where DWI offenders reside in 

each neighborhood (Figures 1 and 2). The 

maps caught the attention of both citizens 

and the media and changed public awareness. 

As a result, the center began to develop maps 

for local law enforcement agencies and public 

policy planners to use as decision-making tools. 

The center surveyed agencies to understand the 

best way to develop the maps and learned the 

following:

 Tools should help agencies deploy their 

limited law enforcement resources more 

efficiently. 

 Officers need data to support their street 

knowledge. 

 Agencies must follow guidelines 

(City of Las Cruces v. Betancourt) when 

determining locations of sobriety 

checkpoints.3

Resource Center Advances 

Mapmaking Methods

Traditional maps had limitations. Most either 

showed alcohol-related crash fatalities or DWI 

crash locations. These maps were statistically 

limited, and did not consider alternative 

factors that may have contributed to crash 

rates, such as traffic volume or road conditions. 

The center’s new maps examined DWI hot 

spots relative to overall accident hot spots and 

highlighted how alcohol-involved crashes at 

different intersections contributed to total crash 

volume. Additionally, the size and shape of the 

distribution curve (see Figure 3) for alcoholinvolved crashes differed significantly from that 

of total crashes during a 24-hour period. The 

maps charted crashes that occurred between 

7 p.m. and 5:59 a.m., when 64 percent of 

alcohol-involved crashes occur.4
7

Figure 3. Hourly Distributions of Crashes—Bernalillo County 1998–2005.

*For the purpose of illustration ,we chose to show crash distributions by shifting the x-axis time 

scale and starting from 6:00 a.m. and ending at 5:59 a.m. the next day. This reflects actual driving 

schedules more closely than a simple 0–23 hourly time scale.

Hour*

Percent of Crashes

Non Drunk Driver Crashes Drunk Driver Crashes

Crash data on the map were color coded. 

Green represented a low percentage of 

alcohol-involved crashes as a percentage 

of total crashes; yellow, a low-to-medium 

percentage of alcohol-involved crashes; 

orange, a medium-to-high percentage 

of alcohol-involved crashes, and red 

represented a high percentage of alcoholinvolved crashes as a percentage of total 

crashes. In addition to the color scheme, 

the maps identified intersections with small, 

medium, and large numbers of crashes, 

illustrated by increasing dot size. Maps 

also showed licensed liquor outlets by both 

density and location. During the mapping 

process, the center’s staff noticed a visual 

correlation between DWI crashes at hot spot 

intersections and clusters of DWI offenders 

living near those hot spots. For this reason, 

they began to include offender residences on 

the map. 

Are the Maps Useful?

The DWI crash maps served as an effective 

tool for law enforcement agencies and 

public policy planners. Feedback from 

law enforcement agencies shows that 

they use the maps to more effectively 

deploy limited personnel resources. 

Law enforcement agencies in Bernalillo, 

McKinley, and Rio Arriba Counties in 

New Mexico reported positive results when 

they deployed personnel to map locations 

with high numbers of alcohol-involved 

crashes, residences of DWI offenders, 

and liquor outlet clusters. Although these 

deployment strategies are not new, the 

ability to visualize these variables coherently 

and concurrently on a single map has 

allowed law enforcement to make decisions 

much more rapidly. As a result, the DWI 

Resource Center, funded under a grant 

from the Office of Community Oriented 

Policing Services (the COPS Office), will 

build a web-based resource deployment 

tool. The tool will provide options for law 

enforcement shifts at priority locations 

throughout the day, taking into account 

staff numbers and work hours. In addition, 

the web-based tool will create color-coded 

maps, updated by the hour to display crash 

probabilities. 

The center’s crash maps have also assisted 

law enforcement agencies in court by 

providing documentation that locations 

selected for sobriety checkpoints meet the 

standard established in the New Mexico 

Supreme Court decision City of Las Cruces 

v. Betancourt.

5

 The ruling establishes eight 

guidelines to determine the “reasonableness” 

of a checkpoint, including location and 

time, two data points provided by the 

center’s maps.6 Because the center’s maps are 

based on data provided through the New 

Mexico Traffic Safety Bureau, the court 

views the data as reliable and officers are 

better equipped to justify both the location 

and time of sobriety checkpoints. 

Implications for Public Policy 

The DWI crash maps have significant 

public policy implications. For example, 

when the center furnished the city of 

Albuquerque’s mayor’s office with maps 

illustrating the top five intersections in the 

city where DWI-related deaths and property 

damage occur, the mayor’s office was able 

to refine its resource allocation strategy. 

The strategy included potential public 

safety infrastructure investments at each 

intersection, including speed cameras, traffic 
88

G&PS | June 2008

controls, and possible public transportation 

improvements. The city also launched a public 

awareness campaign to notify businesses and 

schools within a 1-mile radius of these highcrash intersections.

The crash maps also helped citizens and 

policymakers in liquor license hearings 

illustrate how a proposed new license may 

affect alcohol-involved crashes in the area. 

Maps gave policymakers a visual representation 

of the correlation between alcohol-involved 

crashes and liquor outlet density throughout 

the city, and allowed them to weigh public 

safety concerns against business interests. In at 

least one hearing, the map presentation strongly 

influenced the denial of a liquor license transfer. 

The center learned several valuable lessons while 

creating DWI crash maps. Law enforcement 

agencies value data integrity and analytical 

precision, so the center chose not to overly 

modify data that went into the final product. 

The data points on the map primarily represent 

the latitude and longitude values where crashes 

occurred. Advanced statistical techniques and 

measures could have provided information 

about hot spots and other areas of interest to 

law enforcement, but the center chose to allow 

law enforcement agencies to make their own 

inferences and deployment decisions based on 

their visual interpretation of the maps. 

Portraying data in this manner allows the map 

user to make decisions by drawing on personal 

and group experience—variables that cannot 

be accounted for with statistical techniques. 

For example, law enforcement officers might be 

aware of secondary “escape” routes or side roads 

in residential areas that impaired drivers used to 

avoid officers or sobriety checkpoints. 

Conclusion 

Crash maps help facilitate deployment 

decisions without providing so much statistical 

information that officers would find them 

difficult to use. They allow officers to use their 

experience to interpret the maps and create 

solutions. In New Mexico, these maps have 

helped law enforcement and policymakers 

craft data-based solutions to reduce DWI 

deaths and injuries. 

The COPS Office is funding the development 

of a web-based application to help police 

fight drunk driving in New Mexico.7 This 

application will be used in conjunction with 

the center’s crash maps. It will allow users to 

analyze DWI data most vital to their needs, 

providing a list of dangerous intersections or 

road segments based on the parameters they 

input into the application. These mapping 

technologies have long-term, significant public 

policy implications for stopping drunk driving 

in communities nationwide. 

For more information about the DWI Resource 

Center, see http://www.dwiresourcecenter.org/.

Notes

1

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National 

Vital Statistic Reports, Vol. 54, No. 19, June 28, 2006. 

This is the most recent year for which data are available.

2

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Traffic 

Safety Facts: Laws, DOT HS 810 721W, February 2007.

3

These checkpoints were established by a New Mexico 

Supreme Court decision (City of Las Cruces v.

Betancourt, 105 N.M. 655, 735 P.2d 1161 (1987).

4

For the area and years in question, 5.6 percent of all 

crashes involved alcohol.

5

105 N.M. 655, 735 P.2d 1161 (1987).

6

Ibid.

7

For more information, see the related article on the 

Operational Deployment and Reporting Application.

Community policing efforts can help reduce 

car crashes that happen because of drunk 

driving. In an effort to prevent alcohol-related 

traffic fatalities, the Office of Community 

Oriented Policing Services is funding the 

development of a web-based application that law 

enforcement agencies and public officials can use 

to examine local incidents of drunk driving. 

The application, called the Operational 

Deployment and Reporting Application 

(ODRA), will provide analysis of driving while 

intoxicated (DWI) data specific to the needs of 

individual stakeholders and local jurisdictions. 

Users can select parameters—including the 

jurisdiction and the date and time of crashes—

and ODRA will create a list of the most 

COPS Office Funds a Web-Based Application 

to Examine Drunk Driving
9

dangerous intersections and road segments 

in the jurisdiction, ranked by the number of 

alcohol-involved crashes. Officers can use the 

application to find DWI hot spots, which 

will help them develop tactics and deploy 

resources to stop drunk drivers before they 

cause crashes.

Initially, ODRA will be developed and 

tested in New Mexico. The source code and 

application will be free and available online 

when testing is complete. 

TECHINCAL TIPS

Crime analysts create maps that focus on a specific problem. An analyst’s 

goal in creating a map should be to show 

how the data that matter to the audience 

are significant. He or she accomplishes 

this by establishing cartographic standards 

that officers can follow to understand the 

geographic elements of the problem in 

question. 

As time passes, data will change. 

Consequently, a geographic representation 

of the problem will change. The way the 

problem is represented should be consistent. 

This article will discuss how to create 

consistent standards when making a map. It 

includes instructions for creating layer files, 

describes base map production, and provides 

useful tips for making maps.

Before Creating a Map 

Analysts must carefully think about how 

to construct a map before beginning 

the process. Requests may come from 

inexperienced clients who are unsure what 

they are asking for and how to ask for 

what they want. Analysts should be able to 

clear up any misconceptions so the clients 

get what they want or understand what is 

possible. 

Analysts may wish work with a client to 

develop the map’s mission statement. To 

accomplish this, they should consider the 

following:

 The audience. Will this map be shown 

to the public? 

 The decisions the map will influence.

Will this map support short-term 

decisions or long-term goals? 

 The data at the analyst’s disposal. Will 

aerial photography, building outlines, 

or census data enhance the product or 

distract the viewer? 

 The data the analyst has not yet 

gathered. Supporting data should be 

collected and made a constant for each 

specific problem. For example, knowing 

streetlight locations will affect an officer’s 

understanding of night vehicle burglaries. 

Take into account what the map should 

accomplish and construct a solid statement 

that clearly communicates this. List the 

data used and dates when the crime took 

place. Send the statement to the client for 

verification. 

Developing a Base Map 

If an analyst takes the time to develop a 

clear base map, it will reduce the time it 

takes to create related maps in the future. A 

base map contains crucial information that 

allows a map’s user to immediately identify 

geographic regions within a city. 

A clear base map will have subdued 

coloration (color choices), to emphasize the 

incidents or focus of the map. An analyst 

should test the base map’s appearance 

in grayscale. The analyst should match 

the audience’s mental map as much as 

possible and think about the cartographic 

representation of main transportation routes 

and landmarks. Landmarks should include 

school parcels,1

 parks, stations, substations, 

and other government facilities. Parcels, 

building outlines, and light poles may be 

useful to display on large-scale maps for 

tactical planning. 

Frequently, analysts will support tactical 

operations that focus on a problem in a 

small area. The base map document should 

utilize scale levels (for example, the area 

and level of detail displayed on a map, the 

zoom level). This can help determine on 

which scale certain layers will be visible and 

which predefined labels show. It reduces 

production time if, when analysts zoom to 

the focus on a certain part of the map, they 

know that the base map will turn layers off 

and on and label accordingly. A region’s size 

may vary, but four or five scale levels should 

be able to clearly facilitate the needs of most 

requests. See Figures 1, 2, and 3.

Scale Levels with Base Maps

Creating Base Maps and Layer Files 

for Cartographic Consistency

Phil Mielke

Redlands Police Department

Redlands, California

Figure 1.1:40000 scale. Major streets 

are larger and labeled. Smaller streets are 

subdued and not labeled.
1010

G&PS | June 2008

Using Layer Files 

Layer files are files that enable crime analysts 

to save a query without filling a computer’s 

hard drive with shapefiles (for example, 

files that contain the GIS-linked database 

information about crime and public safety 

incidents in an area). Problems often arise 

when analysts query the master incident data 

source (the complete database) and then 

export the relevant data, making these data 

a separate shapefile mapped with separate 

symbols on the resulting map. This causes 

three problems that can be averted by creating 

layer files in ArcMap: 

Problem 1. For every map project, an analyst 

creates a backlog of files that must be supported 

and sustained. Depending on the map 

document and the request, this could result in 

5 or 10 extra megabytes of data that must be 

stored and rarely retrieved. Considering that 

most analysts fill multiple requests daily, this 

can fill their hard drives in a short time. Hard 

drive cleaning can be a tricky process because 

it can be difficult to tell which data are vitally 

important. 

Problem 2. An analyst can squeeze only a 

small amount of information into a file name. 

Complex queries involving date, time, offense 

type, geography, and a host of other variables 

can not be documented easily within a file 

name. Referencing shapefiles from previous 

maps and queries introduces uncertainty into 

the product. 

Problem 3. Incident databases change. 

New streets require new geocoding. Records 

departments recode offense types. Reports may 

take longer to arrive into the incident database 

than the previous query allowed. A shapefile 

exported from the master incident database 

does not account for retroactive changes to the 

main incident database.

Layer files in ArcMap (.lyr) are small in 

size (less than 20 kilobytes) and serve as a 

combination of a saved query, the symbols 

used to denote incidents on the map (the 

symbology), and the label classification (for 

example, zoom level, font type). A layer file 

references a master incident data source by 

the stored query. Each query can be changed 

to include different types of crime or different 

dates and times when crime was committed.

By referencing the master incident data source, 

the layer file acts as a dynamic query3

 that will 

allow for naturally occurring changes in the 

data source. For instance, say an officer wants 

to know where traffic accidents occurred in 

September. If after creating the query, the 

master incident data source is updated to 

Figure 2. 1:50000 scale. All streets are labeled 

and symbolized equally. Building outlines 

and parcels are visible. Address numbers are 

labeled.

Figure 3. Scale ranges can be set in the 

mapping program ArcMap2

 by right-clicking 

the layer and selecting “Visible Scale 

Range.” Zoom in to the point where symbols 

in the layer should become invisible if the 

map’s user zooms farther, and select “Set 

Maximum Scale.” 
11

include extra incidents, the layer file acts as 

a dynamic query and can incorporate the 

new data into the resulting map.

Analysts can find information about the 

initial query and the data source being 

referenced under the layer’s properties 

tab. Checking these parameters removes 

the guesswork involved in saving and 

sharing layer files within a crime analysis 

unit. Analysts should use consistent 

symbologies (symbols) when creating maps, 

so that officers can quickly understand the 

problems displayed. 

Creating Layer Files for Hot 

Spot Data 

Spatial Analyst, an extension of the 

Environmental Systems Research 

Institute’s4 ArcGIS software, produces a 

Kernel density estimation (KDE) raster 

file, a spatial analysis technique that groups 

crime incidents and shows crime hot spots. 

When creating layer files, a crime analysis 

unit must establish standards for the KDE’s 

search radius and grid cell size, or the result 

is visual ambiguity. Hot spots will vary 

too much in size and density value when 

different search radii are used.5

The symbology of this raster file is often 

created by using a classified schema, a 

program function that will automatically 

produce color values. These color values are 

classified using a statistical model, known as 

natural (Jenks) breaks.6 The areas of higher 

crime density are automatically colored 

with a darker hue and an analyst typically 

displays the crime hot spots illustrated 

by the natural breaks model. This process 

helps show where certain incidents are 

occurring in higher density at a given time, 

but does not allow analysts to consistently 

symbolize incident densities from two 

different time periods. 

For example, assume that in September, 

a total of 62 vehicle crimes took place in 

a given area, while in October, 44 crimes 

occurred in the same area. Fifteen vehicle 

crimes occurred on a single street in 

September, whereas in October, nine vehicle 

crimes occurred in a single parking lot. 

Using the values given automatically from 

the natural (Jenks) breaks for both densities, 

the analyst might depict the hot spots as 

equally dense from September to October. 

The officer, seeing the darkest hue of the hot 

spot, thinks that the parking lot in October 

is just as bad as the street in September. 

To create a map that can compare data from 

different time periods, follow these steps:

 Pick the KDE raster that will give the 

highest density values. For example, if 

September has the highest number of 

vehicle crimes, use September’s density 

raster.

 Use the automatic natural breaks to 

separate the highest-value density. 

Make sure the lowest density values will 

not symbolize single crime events, and 

add a higher range of values to allow 

for time periods that may have higher 

densities of crime. Save the layer file. 

 Use this layer file as a standard for 

creating other density rasters of the 

same crime type and time period (for 

example, monthly vehicle crimes). 

Import this layer file into maps made 

from other density rasters.

Conclusion

Producing consistent cartographic 

products will allow a map’s user to develop 

familiarity with the way information 

is portrayed. Using layer files and base 

maps not only ensures that information is 

portrayed consistently, but saves valuable 

production time. 

Notes

1

Consider displaying the 1,000-ft. buffer of schools, 

depending on laws regarding enhancing drug 

charges near schools. 

2

ArcMap is a component of Environmental Systems 

Research Institute’s Geographic Information System 

software. 

3

A layer file acts as a dynamic query if an analyst 

creates a definition query for the layer file (using the 

properties tab). 

4

See the Environmental Systems Research Institute 

web site: www.esri.com.

5

See www.eastvalleycompass.org/radiustest.html

to learn how about different types of displays for 

search radius sizes. 

6

“Natural (Jenks) breaks” is a statistical model for 

determining the best arrangement of values into 

classes. 

Idaho’s Statistical Analysis Center Helps State Police Solve 

Personnel Allocation Problem

Janeena Wing

Idaho State Police

Meridian, Idaho

When the Idaho State Police needed to know how many troopers should 

patrol state roads, the Idaho Statistical 

Analysis Center (ISAC) used geographic 

mapping technologies and collaborative data 

to answer the question.

Statistical Analysis Centers (SAC) collect 

and distribute criminal justice data and 

research and evaluate statewide policy issues. 

The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics offers 

grant funds to encourage SACs to analyze 

topics of concern, such as human trafficking, 

cybercrime, domestic violence, and emerging 

drug trends. Many SACs also help maintain 

national data sets, including National 

Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) 

data and state crime victimization research. 

Currently, 53 states and territories have 

SACs. Each state’s governor decides where 

to locate the SAC. The governor may choose 

to place the SAC in the governor’s office, the 

state highway patrol, the state department of 

corrections, or a university. 
1212

G&PS | June 2008

Patrolling Idaho’s Interstates 

and Highways—How Many 

Troopers Are Needed? 

The Idaho State Police wanted to determine 

how many troopers would be needed if a 

trooper were to pass every mile of the state’s 

interstates and highways once a day. They 

also wanted to know the number of troopers 

needed to provide adequate coverage for 

calls for service and interagency assistance in 

each region of the state. To answer the Idaho 

State Police’s questions, ISAC began a police 

allocation study in March 2007. 

ISAC collected information on state and federal 

roadways in Idaho from a variety of sources, 

including the following:

 Idaho Department of Transportation data 

on crashes and average traffic for each 

milepost for 2004 through 2006. 

 Idaho State Police computer-aided dispatch 

system information on calls for service for 

each milepost for 2004 through 2006. 

ISAC used the information to categorize roads 

by frequency of traffic, crashes, and calls for 

service, using three tiers (high [1], medium 

[2], and low [3]). Data were analyzed using 

Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 

software, then plotted geographically using 

Geographic Information Systems software, as 

shown in Figure 1. 

The ISAC analysis determined that Tier 1 roads 

needed a trooper to pass by each milepost 

once every 4 to 6 hours. Tier 2 roads needed a 

trooper to pass by each milepost every 8 to 12 

hours. Tier 3 roads needed a trooper to pass by 

each milepost once every 24 hours. 

After establishing the number of times troopers 

needed to travel between distant points, 

ISAC estimated the average patrol speed 

possible through all rural and urban areas. The 

geography of each area played an important 

role in understanding how fast a trooper 

could travel between distant points on Idaho 

roadways—rural roads might wind through 

narrow river canyons and high mountain 

passes, and officers on urban roads might 

encounter heavy traffic. ISAC calculated the 

optimum average speed for each milepost and 

determined the best possible routes troopers 

could take to ensure that all mileposts were 

passed at least once a day. 

Based on geography and traffic flow, Tier 1 

roads had an average patrol speed of 10 miles 

per hour, Tier 2 roads had an average patrol 

speed of approximately 35 miles per hour, and 

Tier 3 roads had an average patrol speed of 55 

miles per hour. 

A mathematical equation incorporating average 

patrol speeds and the number of patrols per day 

allowed ISAC to determine how many troopers 

were needed to patrol each mile of freeway. 

Figure 2 shows this equation, which was 

developed by Northwestern University. 

The Idaho Statistical Analysis Center

Since its inception in 1978, the ISAC has been housed in the Idaho Department of Law Enforcement, 

which became the Idaho State Police in July 2000. ISAC provides statistical support, data analysis, 

program planning, evaluation research, and technical support to local, state, and national criminal 

justice agencies. 

ISAC is currently working on several projects, including evaluations of B/JAG1 and STOP2 grant 

programs, a state victimization study, and projects that analyze NIBRS data to gain a better 

understanding of Idaho crime trends. 

Figure 1: Tiered Mileposts on State and 

Federal Roads in Idaho.
13

NEWS BRIEFS

Using this equation, ISAC estimated that 

the Idaho State Police would need to hire 

88 additional troopers. Idaho would then 

have 231 state troopers, up from the 143 

mandated by the state legislature. 

Conclusion 

State SACs actively work to establish 

national and state networking relationships 

and research partnerships. The Idaho 

study was possible because of the 

collaborative opportunities available to 

ISAC. Combining criminal justice data 

sets with geographic mapping systems can 

provide meaningful research that effectively 

influences policy and practice. 

 The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice 

Assistance Grant (JAG) Program (42 

U.S.C. 3751 (a)) is the primary provider 

of federal criminal justice funding to state 

and local jurisdictions. JAG funds support 

all components of the criminal justice 

system, including multijurisdictional drug 

and gang task forces; crime-prevention 

and domestic violence programs; and 

courts, corrections, treatment, and justice 

information sharing initiatives. 

 The Services, Training, Officers and 

Prosecutors (STOP) Violence Against 

Women formula grant program provides 

federal financial assistance to states to 

develop and strengthen law enforcement 

activities, prosecution strategies, and victim 

services in cases involving violent crimes 

against women.

Notes

1

The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance 

Grant (JAG) Program (42 U.S.C. 3751 (a)) is 

the primary provider of federal criminal justice 

funding to state and local jurisdictions. JAG funds 

support all components of the criminal justice 

system, including multijurisdictional drug and 

gang task forces; crime-prevention and domestic 

violence programs; and courts, corrections, 

treatment, and justice information sharing 

initiatives. 

2

The Services, Training, Officers and Prosecutors 

(STOP) Violence Against Women formula grant 

program provides federal financial assistance to 

states to develop and strengthen law enforcement 

activities, prosecution strategies, and victim services 

in cases involving violent crimes against women.

If Chicago residents want to know 

what neighborhoods are safe to stroll in 

at night, they may want to check out 

everyblock.com. The web site, launched 

in January 2008, provides city maps that 

track crime incidents and neighborhood 

safety information, including restaurant 

inspections and liquor licenses. This 

information is free for use by officers, 

city officials, and the general public. 

Everyblock.com expands on the concept 

of chicagocrime.org, providing crime and 

public safety information for Chicago, San 

Francisco, and New York City.

The idea for such “mashup” sites began in 

2005, when a number of web developers 

customized Google Maps to include 

other types of information. At this time, 

a programmer named Adrian Holovaty 

designed chicagocrime.org, a site that fused 

map data with crime data from the Chicago 

Police Department. Users could find where 

crime occurred and search for specific 

locations or types of incidents. In January 

2008, Holovaty replaced the chicagocrime.

org site with everyblock.com. The new site 

has an improved crime mapping interface 

and provides information that includes 

building code violations, graffiti cleanup, 

restaurant inspections, and more.

Holovaty’s chicagocrime.org has inspired 

numerous other mashup web sites that 

provide crime data and public safety 

information. Some of these sites also 

provide information about traffic incidents 

and construction, which allows motorists 

to plan their daily commutes. For example, 

a site called DalTrans provides information 

about traffic, construction, and accidents in 

and around Dallas. Another site, CrashStat, 

maps dangerous intersections in New York 

City. This information can help city officials 

decide where and when to change traffic 

patterns or erect signs. 

Mashup sites have proliferated, partly because 

of how easily they can be developed. Police 

departments now often use mashups to make 

crime information available to the public. 

For more information, see www.everyblock.

com, www.crashstat.org, and http://

dfwtraffic.dot.state.tx.us/dfwweb/. 

Police 

Departments 

Partner With Crime 

Mapping Web Site 

Public Engines, Inc., has integrated Google 

Maps into its crimereports.com site, which 

creates maps of crime incident data from 

participating jurisdictions and makes 

them available to the public. So far, 40 

police jurisdictions have partnered with 

Public Engines, Inc. The web site provides 

police departments with an easy-to-use 

web service for publishing and sharing 

crime data. Maps are available at www.

crimereports.com.

Web Site Maps Crime and Public Safety 

Information in Chicago, New York, and San Francisco 

Figure 2: Equation to Determine the Number 

of Troopers Needed per Highway Mile.

HM x HC

7 x PS x SH x PI

N = 

N = Number of Troopers

HM = Highway Miles

HC = Hours of Coverage Per Week

PS = Average Patrol Speed (includes stationary patrol

SH = Shift Length

PI = Performance Objective Patrol Interval
1414

G&PS | June 2008 G&PS | March 2008

Intelligent 

Communication 

Systems Target 

Road Hazards and 

Bad Weather 

Intelligent technology can warn drivers of 

hazards on the road. A consortium of European 

automotive companies, public authorities, 

and research institutes are working together to 

develop an intelligent transportation system 

that tells drivers where hazards may occur and 

increases their spatial awareness of the roads on 

which they are driving.

The system will use global positioning systems 

technology, wireless communication systems, 

and sensors to warn drivers about hazards 

outside their field of vision. Collaborators 

hope it can help reduce the risk of automobile 

collisions and stop multivehicle pileups. 

For more information, see www.prevent-ip.org.

Boston Police 

Change Protocol for 

Handling 911 Calls 

When someone calls 911 and requests help, 

officers may find that more than one location 

on their maps match a given address because 

streets in different parts of the city have the 

same name. To help deal with the problem, 

Boston police officers have begun sending 

officers to all locations that come up as 

matches. This helps them prevent mix-ups and 

ensures that all calls receive a prompt response.

Cell Phones Help 

Detectives Locate 

Crime Suspects and 

Victims 

On June 5, 1998, Denise Murray’s daughter 

Stephanie was impaled with a metal rod 

on Interstate 95 in southern Florida. Her 

daughter survived the incident, but emergency 

dispatchers had to ask for her location 23 

times before they were able to locate her. 

Today, global positioning system tracking 

technology is commonly available on cell 

phones, a feature that would have made it 

possible for Florida officers to track Murray’s 

location more quickly. This technology can also 

be used by law enforcement to track criminals 

in investigations or find missing persons.

For more information, see http://www.topix.

com/content/trb/2008/03/cell-phones-becometools-for-helping-detectives-find-crime-suspects.
15

Major Safety Organizations

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Traffic Safety Program

Documents fatalities and injuries and addresses behavioral and educational aspects of traffic safety. 

Issues include child passenger safety, seat belt use, impaired driving, teenage drivers, motorcycle 

safety, and new drivers. http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/portal/site/nhtsa/menuitem.5928da45f995923816010

31046108a0c.

Federal Highway Administration, Safety Division 

Funds programs on intersection safety, roadway safety, pedestrians, bicyclists, child safety (safe routes 

to school), older drivers, and many other issues. http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov. 

National Safety Council 

Nonprofit organization that compiles annual statistics on motor vehicle safety and constructs annual 

estimates of the cost of motor vehicle fatalities, injuries, and property damage. It produces an annual 

report called Injury Facts. http://www.nsc.org. 

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Standing 

Committee on Highway Traffic Safety

Nonprofit organization that is involved in setting national roadway safety engineering standards, which 

are accepted by most states. http://www.transportation.org/?siteid=35&pageid=2331. 

Transportation Research Board

Part of the National Academies of Science, the board sponsors many studies on traffic safety. 

http://www.trb.org. 

AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety 

Nonprofit organization that produces reports on various aspects of safety including child safety, bicycle 

safety, driver education, young drivers, aggressive driving, safety ‘culture,’ and many other topics. 

http://www.aaafoundation.org.

Governors Highway Safety Administration 

Nonprofit organization that represents the highway safety offices. It produces publications on various 

policy-oriented safety topics including community guidebooks and countermeasures that work. 

http://www.ghsa.org. 

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety 

Nonprofit organization that conducts studies for the insurance industry including crashworthiness, redlight running, impaired driving, motorcycle safety, and teenage drivers. http://www.iihs.org. 

International Association of Chiefs of Police, Traffic Safety Management Program

The IACP technology clearinghouse has many publications dealing with traffic safety including red-light 

running enforcement, road safety audits, work zone safety, and other topics. http://www.iacptechnology.

org/TrafficSafety.html. 

Most states have offices that specialize in safety. The offices are located either in the state police or in 

the state’s transportation department (or both). See the URL for the individual state.

Resources: Traffic Safety and Law Enforcement
1616

G&PS | June 2008

Major Publications Relevant for Traffic Safety Best Practices 

AECOM Consulting Transportation Group, Bellomo-McGee, 

and Ned Levine & Associates. Considering Safety in the Transportation Planning Process. 

Washington, D.C.: Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, 2002. 

http://tmip.fhwa.dot.gov/clearinghouse/docs/safety/.

Federal Highway Administration 

Highway-Railroad Grade Crossing. Washington, D.C.: FHWA Safety Division, U.S. Department 

of Transportation, 2006. http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/xings/index.htm

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

Report to Congress on the Large Truck Crash Causation Study. MC-R/MC-RIA. Washington, 

D.C.: March 2006. 

International Association of Chiefs of Police 

IACP Technology Clearinghouse. Alexandria, Virginia: International Association of Chiefs of 

Police, 2006. http://www.iacptechnology.org/TrafficSafety.html. 

National Cooperative Highway Research Program 

Crash Records Systems: A Synthesis of Highway Practice. Washington, D.C.: NCHRP Synthesis 

350, Transportation Research Board, 2005 http://www.trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=5840. 

National Cooperative Highway Research Program 

Guide for Reducing Aggressive Driving Collisions. 2003. http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/

nchrp/nchrp_rpt_500v1.pdf. 

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 

Strategies for Aggressive Driver Enforcement. 2001.

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/enforce/aggressdrivers/toc.html.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 

Studies on Aggressive Driving. Multiple years. 

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/enforce/aggredriver.html.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 

National Survey of Speeding and Other Unsafe Driving Actions:

Volume I: Methodology.

Volume II: Driver Attitudes & Behavior.

Volume III: Countermeasures.

Washington, D.C.: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 1998.

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/aggressive/unsafe/ 

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 

Initiatives to Address Impaired Driving. December 2003. 

http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=2163. 

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 

4313FA Crash Outcome Data Evaluation System (CODES). Washington, D.C.: National Highway 

Traffic Safety Administration, U. S. Department of Transportation, 1997. 

Case Studies of GIS-Based Traffic Safety Information Systems

1. Houston-Galveston Area Council traffic safety planning program. 

http://www.h-gac.com/taq/planning/default.aspx. 

2. Southeast Michigan Council of Governments traffic safety planning program. http://

www.semcog.org/Safety.aspx. 
17

NIJ Conference 2008

July 21–23, 2008 in Washington, D.C. 

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/events/nij_conference/

welcome.htm

GeoWeb 2008 Conference

July 21–25, 2008 in Vancouver, B.C., Canada

http://www.geoweb.org/

2008 ESRI International User Conference

August 4–8, 2008 in San Diego, California

http://www.esri.com/events/uc/index.html

NSGIC 2008 Annual Conference

September 7–11, 2008 in Keystone, Colorado

http://www.nsgic.org/events/2008_conference.cfm

GIScience 2008

September 23–26, 2008 in Park City, Utah

http://www.giscience.org/

2008 California Crime and Intelligence Analysts 

Association Training Conference 

September 23–26, 2008 in Pleasanton, California

http://www.baciaa.org/2008ConferencePage.htm

Urban and Regional Information Systems 

Association (URISA) 46th Annual Conference

October 7–10, 2008 in New Orleans, Louisiana

http://www.urisa.org/conferences/aboutannual

24th Annual New York State GIS Conference

October 6–7, 2008 in Liverpool, New York

http://www.esf.edu/nysgisconf/default.htm

2008 IACA/FCIAA Conference 

October 13–16, 2008 in St. Pete Beach, Florida

http://www.iaca.net/Conference2008.asp

Applied Geography Conference

October 15–18, 2008 in Wilmington, Delaware

http://appliedgeog.binghamton.edu/

Tenth Crime Mapping Research Conference

August 2009 in New Orleans, Louisiana

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/maps/

Crime News Events 2008

Dealing with crime problems in a local law enforcement agency sometimes means reaching out to 

other local agencies (e.g., city planning) to come up with a solution. The events listed here are good 

opportunities to learn what mapping professionals and those in related areas are doing, get new ideas, 

and present your work. 
July 21–23, 2008

Crystal Gateway Marriott

Arlington, Virginia

For more information, visit

www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/2008.htm

Featuring the plenary panel

“Making Smarter Decisions: 

Connecting Crime Mapping with City Officials”

August 2009
19

COPS Grant Information 

at your fingertips

The COPS Office Response Center 

provides information on the following:

•	 COPS Grants

•	 Grant Applications

•	 Grant Management

•	 COPS Online, passwords, 

financial status reports, etc.

•	 Community policing training 

available from the Regional 

Community Policing Institutes

•	 COPS Publications

•	 Contacting your state Grant 

Program Specialist or Staff 

Accountant 

To contact the COPS 

Office Response Center:

Phone: 800.421.6770

Fax: 202.616.8594

E-mail: askcopsrc@usdoj.gov

Mailing address:

COPS Office Response Center

1100 Vermont Avenue, N.W.

Washington, DC 20530

Hours of Operation:

Monday to Friday, 9:00–5:00 

Eastern Time

After-hours voicemail—call returned 

next business day

Information available 24 hours a day 

at www.cops.usdoj.gov

Ask us for materials to address a 

specific problem in your community.

www.cops.usdoj.gov
U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services

1100 Vermont Avenue, N.W.

Washington, DC 20530

To obtain details on COPS programs, call the 

COPS Office Response Center at 800.421.6770

Visit COPS Online at www.cops.usdoj.gov

COPS Editorial Staff 

Nicole Scalisi

Research Analyst

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services

Judith Beres

Editor

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services

Sandra Sharpe

Production

Ofice of Community Oriented Policing Services

MAPS Editorial Staff 

Ron Wilson

Program Manager/Social Science Analyst 

National Institute of Justice

Katie Filbert

Research Associate (Contractor)

National Institute of Justice

Ariel Whitworth

Communications Editor

National Criminal Justice Reference Service

e060813145

Visit NIJ Online at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij