Eight or nine years back we attended one of the first Crime Mapping conferences sponsored by the National Institute of Justice and found it to be one of the most creative and practical events of this type. (We also have very high regard for the ESRI Users Conference and the Special Libraries Assoc. meetings.) So we want to be sure to let all analytic journos know about next year's Crime Mapping confab, scheduled for March 28 to 31, 2007 in Pittsburg, Penn. Here's part of the official call for papers:
The Mapping & Analysis for Public Safety Program announces it's Call
for Papers for the Ninth Crime Mapping Research Conference in Pittsburgh,
PA at the Omni William Penn Hotel, March 28 to 31, 2007. The deadline
for submission is Friday, September 29th....
The theme of this conference will be Spatial Approaches to
Understanding Crime & Demographics. The use of Geographic Information Systems
(GIS) and spatial data analysis techniques have become prominent tools for
analyzing criminal behavior and the impacts of the criminal justice
system on society. Classical and spatial statistics have been merged to
form more comprehensive approaches in understanding social problems
from research and practical standpoints. These methods allow for the
measurement of proximity effects on places by neighboring areas that lead
to a multi-dimensional and less static understanding of factors that
contribute to or repel crime across space.
The 9th Crime Mapping Research Conference will be about demonstrating
the use and development of methodologies for practitioners and
researchers. The MAPS Program is anticipating the selection of key accepted
presentations for further development of an electronic monograph on GIS,
Spatial Data Analysis and the Study of Crime in the following year. Its
purpose will be to demonstrate the fusing of classical and spatial
analysis techniques to enhance policy decisions. Methods should not be
limited to the use of classical and spatial statistics but also
demonstrate the unique capabilities of GIS in preparing, categorizing and
visualization data for analysis....
