SPATIO-TEMPORAL ANALYSIS OF CRIME IN ENUGU METROPOLISE FROM JANUARY 2010 TO JUNE 2015 USING GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM
ABSTRACT
The study focused on improving crime analysis and mapping in Enugu urban using Geographical information system (GIS ) and spatial database of crime which helps in the determination of hotspots in Enugu Urban and also it identifies the challenges facing police departments that seek to implement computerized crime mapping systems. The analysis of the existing information system from the Enugu urban Police Force showed that the current system was manual and not sufficient for crime analysis and also all their recordings are manually written in blotters (police blotter is a record of all arrests, crime events, and charges). It lacked comprehensive crime analysis with a spatial component in the form of a map and it is difficult to make a decision for all the police stations. In addition, socio-demographic data were missing. The Spatio-temporal Crime Analysis and Mapping System (STCAMS) which included various components of spatio-temporal crime analysis and mapping was therefore developed to solve the above problems. It was carried out by Utilizing all the crimes reported from January 2010 to June 2015 in all the Local Governments Areas in Enugu Metropolis. The crime was divided into two categories: offence against property ( which included stealing, armed robbery, burglary, house breaking), offence against authority (forgery of currency notes). To achieve the aim of the study, which is to conduct spatio-temporal analysis of crime in Enugu Metropolis using Geographical Information system (GIS) from January 2010 to June 2015, the database of the manually recorded crime data from the year r2010 to 2015 was created using Microsoft Excel 2007. The spatiotemporal distributions of the crimes from the six years were analyzed using ArcGIS version 9.3 and Crime Statistics 4.02 Software. The GIS was used to tie crime data to location and view crime situation of an area on a map. Crime map was used to identify hotspots or the areas with high concentration of crime. Such highlighted areas will enable the Police to direct patrols where they are most needed thereby optimizing the deterrent effect of police presence. The results revealed that crime rate is highest in Enugu North, followed by Enugu East then Enugu South. Where there were small patches of crime incidents in some part of Udi and some part of Nkanu West. The rate increased from time to time especially in the year 2014. The result also showed that with the use of GIS, mapping of crime locations, socio-demographic and temporal data could enhance police analysis and prediction of potential hotspot for combating and reduction of crime in Enugu.