An open-source implementation of geographic profiling methods for serial crime analysis

Jamie S. Spaulding () and Keith B. Morris
Additional contact information
Jamie S. Spaulding: Hamline University
Keith B. Morris: West Virginia University

Journal of Geographical Systems, 2023, vol. 25, issue 4, No 6, 567-586

Abstract: Abstract The rgeoprofile R package was developed to implement functions for the analysis of serial crime incidents. Geographic profiling is an investigative technique that utilizes the spatial relationship of a connected series of crime incidents to determine or predict the most probable area of offender residence or anchor point. If successfully used as a decision support system, criminal geography can be used to help law enforcement agencies strategically target certain areas for inquiry or prioritize suspects through a narrowed search window. As an open-source platform, the rgeoprofile package contains several rapid reproducible models of spatial analysis using either centrographic or distance decay functions to predict the offender’s home base. An open-source approach results in transparent analyses with no-cost availability for agencies. Additionally, since both mathematical models and investigator heuristics have been shown to provide viable options for criminal geographic profiling, a software package, which integrates different solutions to the geographic profiling problem was needed. Finally, the article demonstrates the various geographic profiling methods in a case study of the Boston Strangler to illustrate the advantages of each approach.

Keywords: Geographical profiling; Police investigation; Decision support systems; Open source (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C02 C32 C63 C88 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10109-023-00417-w Abstract (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:kap:jgeosy:v:25:y:2023:i:4:d:10.1007_s10109-023-00417-w

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer. ... ce/journal/10109/PS2

DOI: 10.1007/s10109-023-00417-w

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Geographical Systems is currently edited by Manfred M. Fischer and Antonio Páez

More articles in Journal of Geographical Systems from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().