I-Corps: Web-based Platform for Real-time Crime Mapping

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a web-based crime mapping platform to support crime display and analysis. The proposed technology may be used to promote public awareness and give people a reliable source for potential risks at locations they plan to visit. The goal is to reduce vulnerability and risks of being victimized. In addition, the proposed technology may equip law enforcement professionals with theory-based crime analysis and evidence-based quantitative/qualitative analyses and may be expanded to reduce gun violence and drug-related crime. Currently, several websites and cellphone apps provide historical or near real-time crime information. However, none of these products perform crime pattern analysis or crime prediction. Rather, they only show basic information about specific incidents. Additionally, some of these products rely on voluntary reports from users, but such information may not be consistent. The proposed technology collects and analyzes verified information from creditable resources and provides practical analyses. This I-Corps project is based on the development of web-based platform to display the distribution of crime incidents for the public and perform theory-based crime analyses for police officers. Crime statistics are usually raw or aggregated numbers, while the proposed platform may receive live feeds from law enforcement agencies, newspapers, media, and trustworthy sources. Crime incidents (including the location, time, offense type, and other information) will be geocoded and plotted on live maps in real-time for the public to search, review, and query. In addition, the proposed technology is designed to provide advanced analyses (e.g., spatial pattern, temporal pattern, hot spot, histogram, and charts) for law enforcement officers to help them analyze crime and keep communities safe. Law enforcement professionals and designated users may access results of theory-based crime analysis including but not limited to hot spot analysis, space-time cube analysis, temporal pattern detection, and risky facility detection. Also, this platform may be used to generate intuitive reports for users based on their specific needs. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.