Compare and Contrast the ArcGIS and MapInfo Programs

Compare and Contrast the ArcGIS and MapInfo Programs

Introduction

Analysts in law enforcement agencies use crime mapping to visualize, analyze, and map crime incident patterns. Crime mapping is an important component of CompStat policing strategy and crime analysis. Crime mapping plays significant role in almost every type of crime analysis. In addition crime analysis helps us in understanding the relationship between people, time, crime, and location. Hence we can say that it assists in identifying crime, optimize resource allocation, implementing effective strategies to prevent crime. Crime mapping is done by using Geographic Information system (GIS) through which analysts of crime identify various patterns, hot spots, and tends of the crime. The old age and traditional systems to maintain criminal and intelligence record has failed, traditional and old systems are not able to live up to the requirements of existing crime scenario (Levine, 2006). Manual processes are not able to provide comprehensive, accurate, and reliable data round the clock and they are not even able to help in prediction and effective decision making. Traditional systems results in ineffective utilization of manpower which ultimately results in lower productivity. The solution of this problem lies on the effective use of information technology.

Today organizations are using GIS (Geographic Information System) that uses geography and computer generated maps as interface for accessing and integrating massive amount of location based information. Geographic Information System plays an important and effective role in crime analysis and mapping. The use of GIS helps crime analysts to overlay other databases like location of pawn shops, census demographics etc. GIS is also used on law enforcement operations such as dispatching to emergencies and allocating police officers. Today the most common crime mapping programs are ArcGIS and MapInfo. In this paper I am going to compare and contrast both programs to choose and purchase best and effective crime mapping program for my company. For each feature of both programs I have tried to highlight their commonalities and differences. Thus, I have attempted to classify the performance of individual software for each feature.

ArcGIS vs. MapInfo

ArcGIS is an integrated suite of software GIS engine that works as a GIS compiler alphanumeric (Databases) and graphics (maps). The scope of ArcGIS is ranging from support in the planning of a particular business, to the spatial analysis of disease in a city. Its architecture is made ??so that their ...