Geospatial Technologies and Crime: The Jamaican Experience (AV Issue Brief 3)

Geospatial technologies—ranging from GPS hardware to GIS software—are being used to fight crime in Jamaica. Analysts can use these tools to overlay various types of data—such as information about socio-economic conditions or infrastructure—on maps showing the incidence of crime, thereby shedding light on the dynamics at work. An improved understanding can lead to better crime-fighting policies and activities.

Jamaica’s high rates of crime and violence weigh heavily on the country. Crime has a negative impact on the economy, on society, and on health. Policy-makers increasingly recognize that enhancing human security is necessary for Jamaica’s larger social and economic development.

Geospatial Technologies and Crime: The Jamaican Experience is a new Small Arms Survey Issue Brief that explains how the security sector can better use technology to maximize the benefits of limited resources, while scaling up the success rate of crime prevention initiatives.

Geospatial Technologies and Crime describes the various modes and uses of geospatial technology, and how these approaches have moved beyond routine mapping to offer a deeper understanding of the dynamics of crime. The Issue Brief examines the use of geospatial tools and analysis within Jamaica in three application areas: crime and security analysis; community profiles; and building social datasets to provide spatial analysis. It shows how geospatial technology is being used in crime control applications on a community scale, enabling the development of crime reduction initiatives based on socio-economic planning.

This Issue Brief is published by the Small Arms Survey in support of the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development, a high-level diplomatic initiative signed by 112 states to date, designed to support states and civil society to achieve measurable reductions in the global burden of armed violence by 2015 and beyond.

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