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Geography & Public Safety is published quarterly and is available in print and electronically.

Mapping & Analysis

NIJ's Mapping and Analysis for Public Safety (MAPS) program supports research that helps agencies use GIS to enhance public safety. The program examines:

  • How to use maps to analyze crime.
  • How to analyze spatial data.
  • How maps can help researchers evaluate programs and policies.
  • How to develop mapping, data sharing and spatial analysis tools.

Learn all about MAPS.

Geography and Public Safety Bulletin, Volume 1, Issue 3

by National Institute of Justice and the Office of Community Oriented Policing ServicesSeptember 2008

Issue III of Geography and Public Safety examines how the nationwide home foreclosure crisis has affected crime, police practice, and public policy. Articles show that geographic information systems can assess how foreclosures influence crime trends and improve city cleanup of graffiti and blight. Additionally, the issue describes the tenets of the broken windows policing theory, and how this theory explains why police and public planners must react quickly, before crime has a chance to escalate.

Articles include:

  • Foreclosures and Crime: A Geographical Perspective
  • Assessing the Impact of Home Foreclosures in Charlotte Neighborhoods
  • Using Maps of Home Foreclosures to Understand National and Local Problems
  • Breaking New Windows — Examining the Subprime Mortgage Crisis Using the Broken Windows Theory
  • The National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership — Creating Positive Change for Depressed Neighborhoods
  • A New Model for Institutionalizing Problem Analysis in Police Agencies