1999 Systems Engineering Capstone Conference • University of Virginia
THE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF ENHANCEMENTS TO A REGIONAL
CRIME ANALYSIS PROGRAM
Student team: Steven W. Bremer, Joseph Dunn, Nayana Mallikarjun, Brady Schuck, Justin Stile
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Donald Brown, Department of Systems Engineering
Client Advisors: Lieutenant J.W. Gibson and Tom McKean
Charlottesville Police Department
Charlottesville, VA
Email: gibsonjw@ci.charlottesville.va.us
mckean@ci.charlottesville.va.us
Sergeant Jeff McKinney
Richmond Police Department
Richmond, VA
Email: jmckinney@ci.richmond.va.us
KEYWORDS: crime data reporting, geocoding,
Geographic Information System (GIS), ReCAP,
tactical analysis
the design and development of improved mapping
features and reporting components for the
Charlottesville system as well as new tactical analysis
module for the Richmond system.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
Over the last few years, students from the
Systems Engineering Department at the University of
Virginia have worked, under the supervision of Dr.
Donald Brown, with police departments from
Charlottesville, Albemarle, Richmond and University
of Virginia in the development of the Regional Crime
Analysis Program (ReCAP). ReCAP employs data
mining and spatial analysis methods to help local
police better understand and predict criminal activity
within their respective jurisdictions. By integrating
statistical and spatial analysis, reporting, tactical
analysis, and geographic information systems into
one comprehensive crime analysis package, ReCAP
allows police departments to utilize the data stored in
their respective DBMS for more accurate and
efficient crime analysis. The aim of the
improvements made to ReCAP over the course of
this project is to help local police apprehend
criminals more quickly and to prevent crime through
improved resource allocation.
Our Capstone team, made up of five
undergraduate systems engineering students, has
worked with representatives from the Charlottesville
and Richmond Police Departments to design,
develop, and implement improvements and new
features for their respective ReCAP systems. This
report provides an overview of this year’s Capstone
team’s goals for and specific contributions to the
ReCAP system.. More specifically, this report details
Crime analysis techniques in law enforcement
agencies are constantly evolving. The dawn of the
computer age has allowed the development of
database management systems (DBMS) and
geographic information systems (GIS) for use in
crime analysis. While these systems have made file
cabinets full of incident reports and push-pin maps
obsolete, using these systems can still be very tedious
and time consuming due to the large volume of
incidents stored in most DBMS. For this reason,
crime analysts still rely on previous methods to
search through data and plot graphs. Data mining
technologies, which deal with automatic
identification of patterns and relationships in large
databases, address these very concerns. Data mining
technologies developed in conjunction with database
management systems and geographic information
systems signify an important step in the advancement
of crime analysis capabilities.
Over the last few years, the University of
Virginia, in conjunction with police departments
from Albemarle, Charlottesville, and the University
have developed the Regional Crime Analysis
Program (ReCAP). This program utilizes data
mining along with GIS to better understand and
predict criminal activity in the area. ReCAP
integrates statistical and spatial analysis, geographic
information systems (GIS), reporting tools, and
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The Design And Development Of Enhancements To A Regional Crime Analysis Program
tactical analysis tools into one crime analysis system.
The primary goal of the system is to prevent local
crime through active crime deterrence and increased
criminal apprehension.
Recently, ReCAP has received attention from
outside departments, most notably from those in
Richmond and Washington D.C.. As a capstone team
within the Systems Engineering Department under
the supervision of Dr. Donald Brown, our goal has
been to enhance the current systems in place in the
cities of Charlottesville and Richmond. In particular,
we have enhanced the mapping and reporting
functionality and included the capability to perform
tactical analysis on crime incident data.
MAPPING
ReCAP has the ability to electronically map
crime incident data from specific queries made by the
crime analyst. We identified the areas for
improvement for the GIS and implemented these
improvements. The main phases involved increasing
the accuracy of the maps and developing an interface
between ReCAP and the software that develops the
Maps, MapInfo. Also, within this interface, we
added various functionality, such as the ability to add
landmarks to the map and the ability to assign a
symbology to represent the crime incident data.
integrated mapping application, we developed a new
Visual Basic form that contained a picture frame.
We then programmed Visual Basic to create a unique
instance of MapInfo when the user chose to view a
map. Visual Basic then sent a command to MapInfo
to run the MapBasic program. After we added the
code to display the map in the picture frame, we
needed to ensure that various options available in
MapInfo remained intact. To begin, the several
“floating” windows that appear in MapInfo were reparented to the Visual Basic interface form.
The final step in the implementation of the
interface involved the integration of various MapInfo
toolbar buttons. Neither the toolbars nor their buttons
can be re-parented in an integrated mapping
application. Instead, the programmer must create the
buttons in Visual Basic. These buttons ensure that
the program allows the user to perform all the actions
that they could perform before the implementation of
the MapInfo interface whose final design is shown in
following figure.
Mapping Interface
Problem Definition. The mapping feature of the
ReCAP system presents the police departments with
a problem in that once the user chooses to view a
map, the MapInfo software application begins
running and displays the map. The MapInfo software
is the sole means by which the user can interact with
the map. Therefore, the user must be knowledgeable
in the MapInfo software application. The goal is to
minimize the required knowledge of the user in
MapInfo. A user interface that seamlessly integrates
the existing ReCAP program, written in Visual Basic,
and the map can accomplish this.
Interface Functionality. After studying the
process of creating an integrated mapping application
in MapInfo, we needed to implement such an
application into the ReCAP software. In addition, we
had to ensure that the mapping functionality the user
saw prior to the implementation of the map interface
would remain intact after the implementation of the
interface.
In the prior version of ReCAP, when a user
chose to see a map of the crimes, Visual Basic ran a
MapBasic program that started MapInfo and
displayed the maps. To integrate this into an
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Geocoding
Problem Definition. The problem facing the two
police departments stems from inaccurate spatial
representations of crime locations. This is due to the
inability of the system to associate a latitude and
longitude (geocode) an incomplete or incorrect
address. Therefore, the main objective of the
solution is to increase the accuracy of these plots
through an increased geocoding rate. This rate refers
to the ratio of the number of crimes successfully
plotted on the map to the total number of crimes
retrieved in the user’s query.
Solutions. There were two changes made to the
ReCAP system to improve the geocoding rate. The
first change made available to the user the option to
view the entries that failed to geocode for a specific
query, and to edit those entries directly. The second
1999 Systems Engineering Capstone Conference • University of Virginia
feature allows the user to obtain a report of all the
entries in the database that are currently not
geocoding. The user can then enter the database
manually and edit the entries.
Symbology and Landmarks
Problem Definition. The problem facing the two
police departments arises from their inability to
identify landmarks and distinguish between different
crime types on a map
Solution. To correct this problem, we created a
new Visual Basic form that can be accessed from the
map interface. This form presents a list of available
landmarks that allows the user to add landmarks of
their choosing.
We also developed a symbology option allowing
the user to assign a unique symbol to each crime
incident type on the map. We created a form that can
be accessed from the map interface that lists all the
crime types on the map and lets the user allocate a
unique color and symbol to each crime incident type
on the map.
Results
The user interface is designed to reduce the
amount of knowledge required by the user in
MapInfo. To determine the ease with which a user
not acquainted with MapInfo can use the mapping
functionality in ReCAP, we plan to test this new user
interface on an officer unfamiliar with ReCAP. We
will use their feedback on the ease with which they
could operate with the interface to determine the
success of the new interface.
To determine the success of the new geocoding
functionality we will use the average geocoding rate.
To begin, we will test the current system and
determine the average geocoding rate over ten
queries. Next, we will test the new system with the
added functionality and run the same ten queries,
while attempting to correct addresses that do not
geocode. We will compare the two average
geocoding rates to judge the performance of the new
functionality.
TACTICAL ANALYSIS
This section documents the design and
implementation of a new tactical analysis module
within the Richmond version of ReCAP. The idea
for this new functionality originated in the thesis of
former graduate student, Steve Hagen, who
developed algorithms for calculating measures of
similarity between incidents. Using these measures
of similarity, the new tactical analysis tool allows
crime analysts to rapidly find similarities and
recognize trends between incidents. The following
section defines the need for a tactical analysis tool,
describes the design process, and details the
implementation of the system.
Problem Definition
One of ReCAP’s primary functions includes a
three-stage query module, which prompts the user to
enter query parameters based on time, location, and
crime type. While traditional SQL queries are useful
for narrowing the scope of an investigation, they have
limitations when used in crime analysis. One
limitation stems from the exacting nature of SQL
whereby potentially related crimes can be removed
from an analysis because they do meet the exact
criteria specified in the query. Furthermore,
traditional querying methods have an inherent lack of
information in their results, as they do not give any
indication as to the relationships between the
incidents. A crime-linking tool that could consider
all similar crimes for an analysis and provide
information as to their relative similarity would
greatly benefit crime analysts in their analyses. The
tactical analysis tool developed in this project
provides this functionality.
Design Process
In order to develop a tool that would be most
useful for crime analysts, we went to the Criminal
Intelligence Unit of the Richmond Police Department
and met with crime analysts Truc Do and Euniqueca
Reed.
Measures of Performance. Based on the
requirements established during these meetings, we
established the following measures of performance
for a tactical analysis tool:
 Speed
 Resource Utilization
 Feasibility
 Utility
Alternative Selection. Based on Hagen’s thesis, I
hypothesized four possible alternatives for
implementing a tactical analysis tool within ReCAP:
1. A Clustering Tool
2. A Non-Query, Runtime-Linking Tool
3. A Post-Query, Runtime-Linking Tool
4. A Linking Tool with Pre-Calculated
Similarity Scores
Performing a systems analysis based on the
Gibson Methodology, Alternative 3, a post-query,
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The Design And Development Of Enhancements To A Regional Crime Analysis Program
runtime-linking tool prevailed as the most robust
solution. This tool begins operation after the user
performs a traditional three-step, ReCAP query.
Then the tool calculates similarity scores at runtime,
as opposed to calculating the scores prior to runtime
and then using a lookup function to retrieve the score.
Implementation
The next step in the development of a tactical
analysis tool for the Richmond Police Department
involved specifying system-level design features for
the actual implementation of Alternative 3. The
selected alternative consists of three primary
functions:
 MO Attribute Retrieval and Display
 Similarity Calculation
 Manual Correction
Each of these functions had to meet individual
design criteria specified for the entire system. In
addition, each function was broken down into a
sequential list of tasks that it must perform:
MO Attribute Retrieval and Display.
1. Determine Focus of Analysis
2. Query for MO Attributes
3. Display the Narrative Form of MO
Attributes
Similarity Calculation.
1. Calculate Continuous Attribute Similarity
2. Calculate Categorical Attribute Similarity
3. Calculate Total Similarity between Incidents
4. Display Incidents in Ranked Order by
Similarity
Measures of Performance. In order to measure
the effectiveness of the tactical analysis tool, two
measures of performance were developed:
 Speed – the actual time it takes to begin and
complete an analysis.
 Accuracy – the proportion of incidents
selected in the test analysis that coincide
with the incidents selected in the original
analysis.
Testing Method. The following method was
developed to test the new tactical analysis tool:
1. Choose a set of independent case studies to
investigate.
2. Walk an analyst the through the case study
using the new tactical analysis tool.
3. Allow the analyst to choose the incidents
s/he deems to be most related to the incident
under investigation.
4. Compare the results of the new analysis with
those from the original case investigation.
Evaluation of Results. The next stage is to
compare the results of the new analyses with those of
the previous analyses. For the speed MOP, a 1-tailed
test will determine if the mean time to perform a
complete tactical analysis using the new tool is
significantly less than the mean time using the
previous method. Assuming enough data points, a
binomial experiment for categorical data analysis will
determine whether the proportion of incidents
returned by the tactical analysis tool that match the
incidents found in the original analyses meets an
acceptable standard.
REPORTING
Manual Correction.
1. Check Status of Current Analysis
2. Determine the Scope of the Analysis
3. Make User Deletions Effective for Separate
Functions
System Evaluation
In order to measure the impact of the completed
tool on Richmond’s current tactical analysis methods,
we have developed tests to measure the effectiveness
of the tool in the field. These tests are intended to
determine whether the new tactical analysis tool
improves, with any statistical significance, the
accuracy and efficiency of Richmond’s tactical
analysis methods.
84
Introduction
The reporting section focuses on the design and
development of internal (functionality utilized by the
police department) and external (functionality
utilized by the public) reporting components for the
Charlottesville ReCAP system. Our main objective
was to provide a means of visualizing criminal data
in the most meaningful way possible. This was
accomplished by developing functions that allow a
user to sort and group data according to the user’s
preferences.
A comprehensive set of requirements was
developed through meetings with members of the
Charlottesville Police Department (CPD) that
indicated that one external feature and three internal
features were needed in the Charlottesville ReCAP
system. The internal features are the following:
Incident Summary Reporting, Tract Summary
1999 Systems Engineering Capstone Conference • University of Virginia
Reporting, and Query Based Reporting. The external
feature is a Web-based Reporting component.
Incident Summary Reporting
Problem Definition. The CPD required a feature
that enables users to break down incidents by
particular criteria. This decomposition would allow
the users to analyze any increases or decreases in
crime rates over a particular period. This report was
to generate monthly to monitor general incident
activity in the Charlottesville region. It should list
the number of each crime type for each agency
(Charlottesville, Albemarle, and UVA Police
Departments).
Solution. The General Reporting tool is a crime
activity analysis tool which has a Graphical User
Interface (GUI) developed in Microsoft Access. This
tool allows crime analysts to generate reports on
incident activity classified by time span and one or
two category classification parameters. The GUI
prompts the user to enter these parameters as well as
a time and date range. These parameters are used to
form a query that retrieves the relevant information
from the Record Management System (RMS)
maintained by the CPD and arranged within a report.
The report that gets generated contains the
counts of the selected incidents for the classification
parameters for the entered time span along with the
time span previous and the time span for the previous
year. By including these time spans, the reporting
tool can be used to determine temporal trends in
crime activities for particular classification
categories. Along with the generation of reports the
General Reporting tool generates charts that
graphically represent the queried information.
Tract Summary Reporting
Problem Definition. The CPD requested a report
that could be generated by a crime analyst that
contains information specific to officer performance,
criminal activity in particular physical areas, and
criminal activity during particular time periods.
Higher ranked officers at the CPD would generate
batches of these reports to distribute to their
subordinate officers. These officers needed a report
that would enable them to keep track of the operation
of their subordinate officers.
Solution. The Tract Summary Reporting Feature
has a Microsoft Access GUI and allows the crime
analyst to produce tract reports in batch by entering
in the tract, department identification code of
particular officer, and shift of each officer on duty.
The feature uses this information to form a query that
retrieves information from the Charlottesville RMS.
The tract summary report will contain statistics
relative to each officer’s shift and agency and arrange
them in following categories:
1) List of all incidents that have occurred in the Tract
over the last 72 hours.
2) List of the incidents that have occurred in the
Tract and the amount of times they have been
reported during that shift for a period of the prior
two-weeks.
3) List of the address in the Tract where incidents
have been reported most frequently over the past
90 days.
4) List of all the warrants outstanding in that Tract.
5) List of all the current active cases assigned to that
officer.
6) List of all regional missing persons.
Query Based Reporting
Problem Definition. The need for this feature
stemmed from the need to make the results of a
incident search more useable. The search feature of
the ReCAP system queries the ReCAP database for
incidents pertaining to user defined crime
characteristics. The results of the search are
displayed in a data window within the ReCAP GUI.
The problem that the ReCAP users have is in the
inability to print or save the information presented in
the data window
Solution. The main objective for the solution of
this problem was to provide an easy method to save
and print the results of a search. In order to do this a
database was created that contains a table that is
linked to the table that stores the data of the results of
the search. From this table a report is composed that
contains all the data fields available in the data
window of the GUI. Included in this report is
functionality options that allows the user to print the
report, save it to a file, and convert it to HTML to
publish it on the web.
Web-based Reporting
Problem Definition. The problem facing the
police departments regarding crime prevention stems
from the lack of awareness by the public. This is due
to inefficient information dissemination between the
police and the public. Therefore, the main objective
of the solution is to provide a reporting feature that
accurately and effectively informs the community of
the crime in their area.
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The Design And Development Of Enhancements To A Regional Crime Analysis Program
Solution. In order to inform the community of
criminal information a web site was constructed that
contains crime reports. The reports were created
using the query based reporting feature and published
to the web. The web reports contains information
specific to each robbery and burglary that occurred
each year from 1996 to the present. Each report also
contains a GIS map that marks the address that each
incident occurred at.
Gibson, J.W., Lieutenant, Charlottesville Police
Department, Charlottesville, VA. Multiple meetings
throughout the 1998-99 school year.
Gibson, John E. “How to do a Systems Analysis.”
Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Copy
Services, 1996.
Hagen, Steve “A Suspect Matching Tool for Robbery
Data.” University of Virginia, 1999.
Results
The enhanced reporting component was
integrated into ReCAP in order to improve its
reporting functionality. To determine the extent of
the improvements we plan to analyze each new
reporting feature according to different measures of
performance.
To determine the success of the Incident
Reporting Feature we will compare the total
combination of reports that can be generated by the
enhanced reporting component and with out. To
determine the success of the Tract Summary
Reporting Feature we will analyze the number of
officers that utilize the report. To determine the
usefulness of the Query Based Reporting Feature we
will analyze the number of different way that the data
can be stored (i.e. on file, web and hard copy). To
determine the utility of the Web-based Reporting
Feature we will analyze its effectiveness by
measuring the potential amount of community
members that it can be disseminated to.
CONCLUSIONS
These new features and improvements to the
ReCAP system will aid the Charlottesville, UVA,
Albemarle, and Richmond police departments
apprehend criminals and prevent crime through
improved resource allocation. The new mapping
interface and functionality improves the overall
coherence of the ReCAP program by incorporating
the mapping features into a ReCAP interface
structure. The new tactical analysis tool improves the
accuracy and efficiency of crime analysis in the city
of Richmond. The enhanced reporting components
improve the presentation and dissemination of
pertinent crime data for use by the police and the
community.
REFERENCES
Brown, Donald E. “The Regional Crime Analysis
Program (RECAP): A Framework for Mining Data to
Catch Criminals.” University of Virginia, June 1998.
86
McKinney, Jeff, Sergeant, Richmond Police
Department, Richmond, VA. Multiple meetings
throughout the 1998-99 school year.
BIOGRAPHIES
Steven W. Bremer, a fourth-year Systems
Engineering student, specializes in Management
Information Systems. His principal contribution to
the project was in the area of increased mapping
functionality. He plans on earning his Masters of
Science Degree in Systems Engineering at the
University of Virginia next year.
Joseph A. Dunn, a fourth-year Systems Engineering
student, specializes in Management Information
Systems. His contribution to the project involved the
development of a tactical analysis tool for the city of
Richmond. He is originally from Maryland and plans
on moving to Arlington, VA to pursue his career at
Deloitte & Touche Consulting group.
Nayana Mallikarjun, a fourth-year Systems
Engineering student, specializes in Management
Information Systems. Her main contribution to the
project involved the development of an internal
reporting component. She plains to work at EDS in
Northern Virginia next year.
Brady J. Schuck, a fourth-year Systems Engineering
student, specializes in Management Information
Systems. His main contribution to the project was in
the area of improving the mapping functionality. He
hails from the great state of California, and will be
moving to New York City to join Ernst & Young
Consulting after graduation.
Justin Stile, a fourth-year Systems Engineering
student concentrating in Management Information
Systems. His main contribution to the project
involved the development of an external reporting
component. He hails from Long Island and plans on
earning a Masters Degree in Systems Engineering.