CHAPTER EIGHT: TECHNICAL SUPPORT NEEDS

Technical support is even more important in small to medium jurisdictions than in the largest cities. This is true for much the same reasons as for training needs: relatively isolated, small jurisdiction GIS officers, often functioning on a part-time basis, cannot be expected to solve all problems locally, nor does "reading the manual" always prove useful advice. Where the town or city has a GIS unit outside law enforcement, often tied to tax assessment and public works functions, that can be an invaluable technical resource for efforts of small to medium law enforcement departments to implement crime mapping.

In terms of policy implications, there is a need for a one-stop clearinghouse which local law enforcement officials may consult to identify technical support links and resources. Second, there is a need to encourage partnerships of law enforcement agencies with GIS experts within the North Carolina university and community college systems.

Technical support strategies

Promote Technical Support

The smaller the jurisdiction, the larger the technical intimidation problem in the provision of technical support. GIS staff from smaller jurisdictions are apt to be less technically proficient than specialists in large jurisdictions. Ironically, this may inhibit their use of such technical assistance opportunities as do exist. The survey respondent from Gallatin, TN illustrates this point when responding to a question about what needs to be done in the provision of technical assistance to small and medium jurisdictions:

"[One needs] to be able to find a source [of technical assistance] that lets somebody like me come and ask the really stupid question, and be able to take it without any real problems, because I think, if anything, it could be the intimidation with technology and especially with folks who aren't that versed in it, and who don't necessarily have the statistical analysis or other types of related background ... "

That is, smaller jurisdictions not only need more technical assistance, they also need it delivered in a more accessible, less intimidating manner.

Because small jurisdictions require greater technical support, they must seek to increase the priority that state and national groups give to the needs of small jurisdictions. There is no need to duplicate substantial resources of the National Institute of Justice Crime Mapping Research Center at the state or regional level. But a simple effort to collect in one place and to mount online the technical resources which have been found useful, specifically here in North Carolina, with contact information for North Carolina resource individuals, would allow local jurisdictions to more effectively utilize existing resources and avoid "reinventing the wheel" in each local implementation of GIS. For instance, the Winston-Salem, NC, Police Department has standard Arcview projects which can be adapted for a variety of reports, but at present there is no system for sharing project files among the state's many Arcview users in law enforcement.

Establish partnerships to enhance local capabilities

Local law enforcement jurisdictions can get a "kick-start" on the road to GIS implementation when it is possible to partner with local universities or other organizations. The interview from Osceola, FL, illustrates:

"Well, we dove in, so to speak, and just started doing it. From Ground Zero, we had the program in the agency, it was sitting there not being utilized, so we just went after it, so to speak. We went to the county for the updated maps and had some professors from a local university helping us with the software, you know, managing the software, and just getting started, and very quickly we started publishing weekly crime maps."

Similarly, the Redlands, CA, Police Department has been able to forge special relationships with vendors to obtain technical support. It has a partnership both with ESRI (makers of ArcView GIS software) and the Omega Group (publishers of the CrimeView add-on software for ArcView). It works closely with them and is a beta test site for their software. However, linking up law enforcement agencies with such potential partners is not automatic and sometimes requires pro-active efforts, luck, and being the first on the block to request partnerships. The partnership strategy should always be explored but it may not always prove feasible.

Publicizing existing models of partnership would be an important but minimal first step toward implementing partnering. An example of a model partnership is the working relationship between NC State University's Center for Earth Observation (CEO) and the National Park Service. Another university/public sector partnership is the Institute for Transportation Research (ITRE) and the many local government agencies that contract for ITRE's services. Both organizations are providers of GIS services to various government agencies and fill needs that are not found within most agencies' resources. Senior Crime Analyst Deb Yanik of the Asheville, NC, Police Department, notes an excellent example of partnership with ITRE.

"I found out that they were doing a street survey, for pavement management ... and said, 'Why can't we have the same people, from Raleigh (it was ITRE doing it) check the street signs, while they're out there, and check the one-way traffic problems, and a lot of other things, and address ranges, for us?' And they said, 'What a good idea!' And so, public works and police were working together. The water department, engineering department, are all involved in it, and that way you've got a lot more input as to what can be done, plus, I said the budget ... everybody can put a part of it into their budget."

Thus one model for partnership is the formation of a center in one of the universities that is focused on the use of GIS in the criminal justice area. Although no city in our interview specifically mentioned a university or community college, it is a model followed in other policy arenas.

Connect to existing technical support resources for crime mapping

Fortunately, there is a broad range of technical support resources already in place for crime mapping functions. See Appendix B.


Chapter summary

It was apparent in our interviews that North Carolina crime mapping professionals have much to share. At the same time there is a widespread need for technical support. There is a need for online mailing lists, conferences, workshops, and publications to promote information sharing and mutual support among law enforcement GIS staff over and beyond the present network of support available from both national and North Carolina resources, listed in Appendix B.