NCJ Number
172492
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 65 Issue: 5 Dated: (May 1998) Pages: 50-52
Date Published
1998
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article describes the Camden Police Department's (New Jersey) use of computer mapping to target those areas of the city at high risk for arson crimes.
Abstract
The Crime Analysis Unit compared crime reports and prior arson histories with municipal tax assessment records, seeking any relevant relationship. For the arson analysis, several types of records and map layers were created and examined for correlations. Ultimately, all data sets -- prior fire records and major incident/crime reports regarding arson locations and relevant property types -- were geocoded and layered into one larger map, where it was possible to see that most of the properties where prior fires had occurred were vacant properties open to intrusion, vandalism, and arson. The next step was to determine which properties were likely to experience future random acts of arson. Recognizing that many arson fires are targets of opportunity, the unit reviewed the tax assessment records and identified a negative-equity trend among properties considered to be vacant. Outside of isolated cases of insurance fraud, properties in negative equity are those whose outstanding liens exceed the total value of the property. Rather than continue paying taxes, many owners abandon negative-equity properties, leaving them to be targets for arson. With targets determined, the focus shifted to finding the catalyst for the fires and pinpointing probable arson zones. The list of factors identified for likely arson targets involved not only abandoned and negative-equity properties, but also properties whose gas and/or electricity were shut off, had prior-year fires, were in gang locales, and were in areas with heavy drug trafficking. Layering actual reported fires with the pre-targeted zones showed the mapping technique to be an accurate way to identify properties at risk for arson. With this technique, officers can be stationed within or adjacent to targeted zones, thus expediting response time and reinforcing future deterrence through proactive policing.