Geospatial Technology Working Group (TWG): Meeting Report on Predictive Policing

During the fall 2010 bi-annual meeting of the Geospatial Technology Working Group (TWG), participants spent several hours discussing predictive policing, specifically how geographic analysis assists in predictive policing, what challenges officers face, what tools and technologies help police officers identify crime, and how predictive policing can be incorporated into future law enforcement strategies. This article discusses the challenges police officers face when implementing predictive policing that include limited resources, political pressure, information management, data overload, data quality, and adaption. The article also discusses how police should identify the unit of analysis used in predictive policing, and how technologies used in new police strategies, including predictive policing, can affect crime. A predictive policing toolbox developed during the TWG session is presented.