ASSIGNMENT

Assignment



Assignment

Crime analysis and crime mapping using geographic information systems (GIS) technology have become increasingly useful tools for targeting resources to combat crime and for assessing the effectiveness of various policing strategies. Yet analyzing crime or applying crime mapping at more than a rudimentary level requires quality data entry, computer systems, mapping expertise and analysis by professional researchers-a commitment of personnel, equipment and money that simply is beyond the capacity of a large proportion of law enforcement agencies (Clarke, 1995).

This project focused on the most basic of the requirements for serious analysis, quality data entry, by assessing the utility, feasibility and cost effectiveness of using the leading forms- recognition software to input data directly from police reports and then export the data to a standard PC-based database. By helping streamline crime data entry, such a capability might help bring quality crime mapping and analysis within the reach of many more police agencies.

Five criteria were used to evaluate TELEform, the leading forms-scanning software which currently is used by nearly 20,000 insurance companies, health care organizations, businesses and governmental entities around the world: user friendliness, stability in a desktop computing environment, functional utility, speed and accuracy when compared with manual data entry and cost effectiveness. The evaluation indicated that TELEform could be used successfully to scan data directly from police reports into a crime analysis and mapping database and that such use could be cost effective in certain circumstances. In brief, the results were (Clarke, 1980):

User-friendliness: The software is as user friendly as common PC database programs and the learning curve for TELEform operators and reviewers is similar to that for such programs. Both the user interface and error-checking routines are intuitive. Any reasonably computer literate person probably could learn to use TELEform's features by attending a three-day training ...