Local crime-fighting turning to geospatial technology for solutions

Valrie Grant

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Specialist and Business Consultant Valrie Grant, who was recently awarded a crime-mapping contract under the Ministry of Public Security has told the Stabroek Business that the initiative by the Government now better positions it to have reliable digital information of “real world events in a computer environment.  The application    of Geographic Information System (GIS) in the crime analysis is rapidly growing, especially for crime hotspots and has a direct bearing in the identification and evaluation of those hotspots to enable effective intervention measures through the utilization of appropriate recourses,” Grant told the Stabroek Business in an exclusive interview earlier this week. 

Grant, who told Stabroek Business that it was important for citizens to understand the ways in which the exercise adds value to effective policing, told Stabroek Business the crime mapping allows for law enforcement to visualize and analyze crime patterns along with other trends. This collection, compilation, evaluation, analysis and dissemination of information about   crime   demographics,   social   and   economic   characteristics, fosters a better understanding of why and not just where crime is occurring.