Geospatial crime scene investigation - From hotspot analysis to interactive 3D visualization

Abstract

This contribution presents an approach to combine geospatial crime scene analysis with three-dimensional geovisualization methods. Crime scene analysis carried out in this paper focuses on GIS-based hotspot identification of robbery scenes. Furthermore, methods are presented to extract those individual spatial properties of hotspot regions that might help to understand observed density patterns. Against this background in-depth analysis tries to reveal certain correlations between urban features and robbery offences. Therefore further analysis links robbery scenes to pedestrian frequencies and to certain urban facilities as, for instance, to schools, banks, clubs and many more. Spatio-temporal analysis of hotspot patterns finalises the presented set of spatial crime scene analysis. However, to facilitate an instant grasp of such complex spatial phenomena, respective results of crime scene analysis are visualized using a three-dimensional geovirtual environment. This combined approach contributes to an intuitive comprehension of complex geospatial information for decision makers in security agencies as well as for authorities related to urban planning. © 2009 Springer Berlin Heidelberg.