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An open-source implementation of geographic profiling methods for serial crime analysis

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Abstract

The rgeoprofile R package was developed to implement functions for the analysis of serial crime incidents. Geographic profiling is an investigative technique that utilizes the spatial relationship of a connected series of crime incidents to determine or predict the most probable area of offender residence or anchor point. If successfully used as a decision support system, criminal geography can be used to help law enforcement agencies strategically target certain areas for inquiry or prioritize suspects through a narrowed search window. As an open-source platform, the rgeoprofile package contains several rapid reproducible models of spatial analysis using either centrographic or distance decay functions to predict the offender’s home base. An open-source approach results in transparent analyses with no-cost availability for agencies. Additionally, since both mathematical models and investigator heuristics have been shown to provide viable options for criminal geographic profiling, a software package, which integrates different solutions to the geographic profiling problem was needed. Finally, the article demonstrates the various geographic profiling methods in a case study of the Boston Strangler to illustrate the advantages of each approach.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Criminal Justice and Forensic Science, Hamline University, 1536 Hewitt Avenue, Saint Paul, MN, 55104, USA

    Jamie S. Spaulding

  2. Department of Forensic and Investigative Science, West Virginia University, P.O. Box 6121, Morgantown, WV, 26506, USA

    Keith B. Morris

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  1. Jamie S. Spaulding
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  2. Keith B. Morris
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Correspondence to Jamie S. Spaulding.

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Spaulding, J.S., Morris, K.B. An open-source implementation of geographic profiling methods for serial crime analysis. J Geogr Syst 25, 567–586 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10109-023-00417-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10109-023-00417-w

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