Putting crime on the map

Putting crime on the map
Web sites help meet the public's growing demand for crime data
This is an important trend to note. Analysts must develop more sophisticated GIS skills and use them to become better analysts as crime mapping using pin maps moves to the private sector...

Graduates revive intelligence role for Coast Guard

The trend in this article is a positive sign!

Crime Pattern ID: Exotic Animal Trafficking

Pattern: Exotic Animals Trafficking

Victims: exotic animals and their owners/habitats

Perpetrators: organized crime as well as individuals, more extensive than weapons trafficking

Locations: exports from Africa and the Far East, may happen anywhere - your norm may be exotic somewhere else in the world

Times/Entry/Approach Methods/Weapons/Tools: vary - see Resources below

Vehicles/Transportation Routes: global problem with local indicators, US major destination for animals

Stolen Goods: exotic animals/animal parts, sometimes threatened and/or endangered species

Method: vary - see Resources below

Motive: profit, desire for animals or animal parts (fur, bones, etc)

Query Terms: birds, macaw, parrot, lizard, snake, bear, tiger, monkey, hedgehog, prairie dogs, names of specific animals, animal parts, hide, skin, bone, coral, conch, elephant, tusk, horn, frog, beetle, insect, iguana, cougar

Suggestions: be aware of indicators of this type of problem and query your reports on a regular basis to see if there are any indicators, stolen animals or reports including animals, communicate cross-jurisdictionally to uncover possible wide regional trends

Resources:

Exotic pet trade, explained

Illegal Wildlife Trade

Crime analyst helps find patterns of criminals to prevent violence

Here's a nice article about a crime analyst in Oklahoma City.

Fusion Center Trifold Pamphlet

This pamphlet summarized the fusion center concept. It is from the National Criminal Intelligence Resource Center.

American Murder Mystery

This is an interesting and relevant article from The Atlantic magazine.

Crime Pattern ID: Parking Lot/Ramp Crimes

"Parking lots and decks are the scene of more crimes leading to a lawsuit than any other corporate setting. A respected litigation analysis firm estimates that 38% of robberies and 17% of sexual assaults on American workers occur while walking to or from their parked cars." from Protecting Against Parking Lot Crime

Pattern: Parking Lot/Ramp Crimes (including vandalism, theft, purse snatching, robbery, carjacking and abductions)

Victims: persons using parking facilities and their vehicles

Perpetrators: varies by crime but mainly a crime of opportunity

Locations: parking lots/ramps/facilities - often focused on particular lots that are poorly designed for safety

Times,Entry Methods/Approach Methods,Weapons,Tools,Vehicles/Transportation Routes, Stolen Goods, Method, Motive: ALL VARY BY CRIME

Query Terms: parking, lot, ramp, space

Suggestions: find your crime hot spots and have officers work with security to target harden problem lots/ramps, make certain you know the addresses of all your lots/ramps and that officers are consistent with reporting crimes at proper locations, when assessing problems of theft or vandalism make sure you figure the ratio of vehicles to parking spaces to determine severity of problem, pay attention to any serious violent crime patterns in lots/ramps and look for series related to lots/ramps

Resources:

NIJ's Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design in Parking Facilities

7 Important Commercial Parking Lot Security Tips

5 Parking Lot Safety Tips

5 Parking Lot Safety Tips

GIS: Cops Favor New Kind of Plotting

Although most of us know about GIS, this article is interesting nevertheless - it features a GIS/analysis success story from Toronto..

Aluminum to hit record highs as energy costs climb

Aluminum is a likely target for thieves if this article is correct....

LOST AMONG THE DATA

This is a thought-provoking article sent to me by Frank Marsh, from NDIC. It won't be news to analysts but it is worth reading.

Car break-ins lead to bigger thefts

A crime analysis unit has identified a prpblem in this article... The RCMP also advise the public a bout the problem at Surrey - Crime Hotsheet - Residential Garage Break and Enters.

Just Like The CBS Drama "NUMB3ERS": Police Use Math to Crack The Case

Just Like The CBS Drama "NUMB3ERS": Police Use Math to Crack The Case - this article may exaggerate just a bit but crime analysis makes the news again, which is a good thing....

Wyoming Army Guard intel cracks gang code

This is a very nice article about an analyst's work.

Crime Pattern ID: Elevators/Stairwells

Pattern: Elevators/Stairwells (robbery, sexual assault) 

Victims: those using elevators/stairwells 

Perpetrators: persons who use opportunity to commit a crime 

Locations: more often in hotels, schools, office buildings 

Times: less busy times for building 

Entry/Approach Methods: suspect sometimes hides and attacks, may act as if he/she belongs in environment and then attack when alone with victim or victim unaware 

Weapons: varies by criminal 

Vehicles/Transportation Routes: must flee on foot out of building, may know routes 

Stolen Goods: varies 

Method: suspect may get in elevator with victim or may be waiting in elevator for victim - same with stairs 

Motive: power, valuables 

Query Terms: elevator, stairs, stairway, stairwell, hall, hallway lurk, hide, hiding, lurking 

Suggestions: track these crimes as they may help you identify a crime series by MO 

Resources: 

https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles/cptedpkg.pdf

Review of Psychology of Intelligence Analysis

This review makes an extremely important point - that target knowledge is important in analysis. The reviewer says that this matters especially in the CIA, but I think it matters in law enforcement analysis as well. If you don't know the subject you are analyzing and understand its past, how are you going to find meaningful patterns?

Crime Pattern ID: Bridges/Underpasses/Overpasses

Pattern: Bridges/Overpasses/Underpasses (objects thrown at vehicles/drivers)

Victims: drivers of any sort of vehicle on the roadways

Perpetrators: juveniles, sometimes gang members

Locations: on roads with overhanging roadways

Times: may happen any time - more likely in darkness when perpetrators cannot be identified

Entry/Approach Methods: unsuspecting drivers are targeted from above

Weapons: rocks, bricks, other objects

Vehicles/Transportation Routes: some locations are repeat - may be a problem location to study - limit access

Method: often multiple suspects - throw object on vehicles below, breaking windshields, potential to cause fatal accidents, sometimes injuring driver or passengers, causing accidents

Motive: thrill seeking, initiation

Query terms: throw, overpass, underpass, rock, brick, bridge, windshield

Suggestions; track this crime - sometimes there are serial offenders or hot spots, may be hard to track - query your data and build upon the history in your jurisdiction, map these crimes

Crime Pattern ID: Veterinarian Office Theft

Pattern: Veterinarian Office Theft

Victims: veterinarian offices/hospitals

Perpetrators: drug addicts/drug abusers

Times: when office is closed

Entry/Approach Methods: standard burglary methods - may cut alarms

Stolen Goods: controlled substances such as Ketamine, people may try to steal their pets to avoid paying medical bills incurred

Method: controlled substances used for animal care stolen from offices, sometimes inside job

Motive: to obtain drugs 

Query Terms: ketamine, Special K, K, vet, veterinary, veterinarian

Suggestions: track all these crimes as they tend to become serial crimes, may cross jurisdictions

Resource:

Fraud/Theft in Veterinary Practices: Are YOU Vulnerable?

A new threat, a new institution: The fusion center

A new threat, a new institution: The fusion center is required reading! It includes a video.

Problem Analysis Module

"PAM (Problem Analysis Module) gives you a framework for analyzing any persistent crime and public safety problem. PAM will ask you to input information concerning every aspect of the problem and then suggest the kinds of responses you could try."

HyperStat Online Statistics Textbook

A free resource for learning more about statistics...

Crime Pattern ID: Medical Identity Theft

Pattern: Medical Identity Theft

Victims: patients of doctors, hospitals, clinics

Perpetrators: variety of types of identity thieves, persons who want to obtain health-care fraudulently or sell identities for people who want health care or to use/sell the information for credit card fraud (based on SSN and other identifiers in stolen records) or insurance fraud by medical professionals, may be inside job

Locations: medical offices, medical file rooms, cyberspace/computers

Times: not a significant factor, thefts from offices of files would occur outside of office hours in burglaries, although larcenies could occur during office hours as well

Entry/Approach Methods: may be inside job - staff stealing records, copying them or emailing them; may be burglary, may steal medical professionals laptops

Tools: knowledge of medical identity theft benefits, computer skills

Vehicles/Transportation Routes: not significant variable except in crime series

Stolen Goods: health identity

Method: stealing patients medical records, sometimes fraud in medical records for insurance money/drugs/other benefits

Motive: profit and/or health care and/or insurance fraud

Query Terms: doctor and office, clinic and office, records, files, insurance, identity, benefits, fraud, hospital and office, etc.

Suggestions: locally theft of records from medical offices may be noted in narratives of crime reports, criminals may search for record info in trash, medical staff computers may be stolen - look for these things and track them, follow up with investigators to gather more information on these cases

Resources:

What To Know About Medical Identity Theft

Medical Identity theft - FTC

SurevyMonkey.com

"The simple way to create surveys. Intelligent survey software for primates of all species. SurveyMonkey has a single purpose: to enable anyone to create professional online surveys quickly and easily."

IHMC CmapTools version 4.18

IHMC CmapTools version 4.18 is a free concept mapping software that can be used for association charting, event flow charting, commodity flow charting and mind mapping. (IHMC = Institute for Human and Machine Cognition)"IHMC is a not-for-profit research institute of the Florida University System and is affiliated with several Florida universities."

20-year-old solves smash and grab case

Another crime analysts gets attention from the media! Read this article....

Crime Pattern ID: Prescription Fraud

Pattern: Prescription Fraud

Victims: pharmacies, veterinarians, insurance industry who pay for multiple illegal prescriptions inadvertently 

Perpetrators: addicts, black market 

Locations: pharmacies in drug stores, hospitals, clinics  

Times: not a significant variable except in theft series

Tools: forging tools in the case of forged prescriptions

Vehicles/Transportation Routes: individuals will go to various doctors for multiple prescriptions

Stolen Goods: prescription pads may be stolen

Method: forging prescriptions, going to several doctors to get multiple prescriptions (termed “doctor shopping”), and altering prescriptions to increase the quantity

Motive: to obtain drugs

Query Terms: prescription, pharmacy, drug store, forged, signature, pills, narcotics, codeine, methadone, Demerol (meperidine), Percocet, Vicodin, and OxyContin, etc.

Suggestions: track all cases of prescription fraud - do a problem study of this issue in your jurisdiction - it is a billion dollar problem nationally that is seldom addressed.

Resources:

The Problem of Prescription Fraud

A Pharmacist's Guide to Prescription Fraud

Program helps track crime trends

Another crime analyst in a news article...

Data analyst latest crime-fighting tool

This is an article boasting of the value of a newly hired analyst.

The Long-Term Price of Rushing to Misjudgment

Here is an interesting blog post by Michael Tanji....

Aurora Police Analyst Dawn Tollakson honored

This is a nice story about a crime analyst recognized for her work on a theft ring.

Fusion Centers Face Staffing and Data Sharing Hurdles

More on fusion centers....

Crime Pattern ID: Carjacking

Pattern: Carjacking

Victims: may be innocent persons, sometimes related to drug buying/dealing - victims who trade cars for a few hours to a drug dealer and call it a carjacking when they report the loss of their vehicle

Perpetrators: suspects in need of quick transportation, suspects who want a vehicle to take to be stripped, suspects who are in gangs 

Locations: more likely in large urban areas, near drug houses, at intersections when a vehicle is stopped, at gas stations, in parking lots... in South Africa the crime is called hijacking and there were 16,000 such crime there in one year - signs are posted for hot spots of the criminal activity

Times: various times of day

Entry/Approach Methods: may bump car with another car to initiate opportunity, may be hiding and attack victim

Weapons: often occur at gunpoint or threat of gun not displayed

Vehicles/Transportation Routes: may use vehicle in crime and discard it in their own neighborhood

Stolen Goods: vehicle, sometimes rob victim of wallet/purse/belongings

Method: a carjacking involves robbery of a vehicle while people are in the vehicle and is often a violent crime, sometimes victims are kidnapped as well, in rarer instances crime may lead to sexual assault or murder

Motive: to obtain a vehicle, also may be a need for power, or a need to escape a scene or obtain a vehicle to use in a crime/to commit a crime

Query terms: vehicle, car, robbery, carjacked, carjacking, stopped at light (or sign), fled in victim's vehicle (or car)

Suggestions: it is important to track all carjackings in your area to uncover any sort of patterns; query your databases for stolen cars AND robbery to find all incidents of carjacking; track all known carjackers in your jurisdiction

Resources:

Crime Prevention Tips Preventing “CarJacking”

Carjacking Prevention Flyer

Putting the Brakes on Carjacking

Funds cut for center on terrorism analysis

Read this article. Why are analysts not a priority?

Crime Pattern ID: Theft from Cars

Pattern: Theft from Cars

Victims: owners of parked cars

Perpetrators: often drug addicts needing quick cash, sometimes juveniles

Locations: driveways, parking lots, parks, schools, churches, sporting events. concerts, shopping malls/plazas, etc; may target places repeatedly

Times: any time of day, increases in weather when suspects

Entry/Approach Methods: suspects often approach and flee on foot although other transportation cannot be ruled out

Tools: prying tools, spark plugs to break window, rocks, bricks

Vehicles/Transportation Routes: 

Stolen Goods: purse, wallet, laptop, change, coins, gps, satellite radio, stereo, glove compartment contents (any sort of valuables in vehicle), musical instrument, sporting equipment, gifts

Method: usually a smash and grab - smash a car window and grab any valuables, may pry door or open lock, flees with portable items, may open trunk as well

Motive: quick cash - items that can be sold easily or traded for drugs

Query terms: glove compartment, gps, car stereo, cut wires, broke window, rock, brick, spark plug, change (coins), broke, lock, lock, smash

Suggestions: know your 6% who commit 60% of the crimes of this type in your area - make a portfolio of these criminals and share with your agency officers and nearby jurisdictions, help community in target hardening efforts (via flyers or media or sign postings); surveillance; theft rates should be computed per parking space or vehicle

Resources:

Problem Oriented Policing Guide Thefts of and from Cars on Residential Streets and Driveways

Theft from Vehicles Brochure

Crime Pattern ID: Dog Fighting

Pattern: Dog Fighting

Victims: dogs, dog owners who pets are stolen, bait animals

Perpetrators: those engaged in the blood sport, also those who breed fighting dogs

Locations: dog fighting takes place in a variety of places around the world including Latin America - it is a felony crime in all 50 states in the US

Weapons: guns and violence are associated with dog fighting events

Vehicles/Transportation Routes: breeders and "dogmen" may move their dogs around frequently, so any unusual amount of transported dogs should be noted

Stolen Goods: dogs may be stolen, bait animals may be stolen for fights

Method: dog fighting is a profit-making activity with a culture of its own, gambling, drugs, guns, and gangs area associated with this activity, see the resources listed below for details

Motive: financial gain, gambling

Query Terms: dogs, pit, chained, wound, blood, 

Suggestions: officers should note indicators such as multiple dogs housed in one location, fighting pits, ledger slips, stats on animals, training devices, executed dogs; all known dog fighters/dog fight promoters should be tracked; stolen animals in your area may be indicator of dog fighting

Resources:

Wikipedia Dog Fighting

The Humane Society Dog Fighting Fact Sheet

Crime Pattern ID: Bus Stop Criminals

Pattern: Bus Stop Criminals

Victims: People waiting at bus stops

Perpetrators: Crimes of opportunity, sometimes a serial offender who knows where to target “prey,” may also be multiple suspects

Locations: bus stops without much natural surveillance may be targeted more often

Times: early morning, late evenings are more likely times of day

Entry/Approach Methods: may approach in a vehicle

Weapons: may use a weapon of any kind

Vehicles/Transportation Routes: bus routes

Stolen Goods: varies, cash, wallet, purse, clothing, footwear, purchases

Method: may pick pockets, may rob victims, may sexually assault victims, may kidnap victims

Motive: cash or belongings, sometimes sexual assault

Query Terms: bus, bus stop, corner, shelter, waiting, exiting, route

Suggestions: Ask officers to note when a crime occurs at a bus stop in their narratives. Track all crimes and look for hot spots. Also look for suspicious activity – persons lurking – may be pedophile, sex offender, robber, or pick pocket.

Resources:

Hot Spots of Bus Sop Crime

Bus Stop Design and Placement Security Considerations

New crime data analyst keeps eye on police information

This a a nice news article! It speaks to the added-value of having an analyst in a police agency.