Geomasking Strategies for Crime Data
Collaborators: Dr. Piyusha Singh and Jing Liu (Ph.D. student)
Given the large amount of information about crime and justice that is publicly available and easily accessible, and new technological tools such as Geographic Information System (GIS), it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain the privacy of individual information. Criminal justice professionals are caught between pressures to inform their communities of their activities and equally compelling pressures to protect individual privacy, particularly for victims. This research project examines how police agencies’ use of point-level computerized maps, particularly those disseminated to the public via the Internet, may compromise victims’ privacy. It assesses how well some fairly new techniques in the area of geomasking can protect individual privacy while still remaining analytically useful. Preliminary results from this project were presented at the 2007 meeting of the American Society of Criminology.
The Spatial and Informational Regulation of Sex Offenders in the Community
Collaborator: Kelly Socia (Ph.D. student)
Recent legislation to monitor and control convicted sex offenders outside of correctional facilities has been designed to quell public concerns over notification about sex offenders within communities and the regulation of their access to potential victims. However, there has been little empirical research about the effectiveness and implications of required public registration and residency restrictions.
The first part of this project examines the spatial distribution of locations of registered sex offenders in Chicago, Illinois. In particular it looks at where sex offenders are concentrated and the characteristics of those neighborhoods. It assesses the extent to which social disorganization and collective efficacy can predict the neighborhood-level concentrations of registered sex offenders. Preliminary findings were presented at the 2007 American Society of Criminology meeting.
The second part of this project focuses on the movement of sex offenders in Chicago before and after arrest to try to determine the collateral consequences of sex offender residency restrictions.
Measuring Financial Exploitation of the Elderly
Collaborator: Jeanna Mastrocinque (Ph.D. student)
As the elder population in the United States continues to grow, there has been an increased interest in crime victimization against this population. Although past research on elder victimization has largely focused on physical, mental, and sexual abuse, recent research has begun to assess property crime victimization, with attention to financial exploitation. Studies evaluating financial exploitation of the elderly population have encountered data limitations, often relying on small populations or qualitative research to determine the extent of this victimization.
Addressing this concern, the first part of this project utilizes National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) data to assess the extent to which the elderly are victims of such property crimes, as well as to present an exploratory analysis of both the incidents and the relationships of the individuals involved. Finally, this paper discusses the unique attributes of NIBRS data, and its potential to inform public policy. This paper is currently under review and available upon request.
Future research in this area will continue to examine what can be learned from NIBRS about this topic and will also explore the potential of other data sources, such as the British Crime Survey, for understanding this problem.
The Importance of Data Visualization in Data Literacy
Data visualization is an important means by which we analyze information, particularly in the current social climate where visual media are so prevalent. Although some disciplines, such as statistics and computer science, have invested considerable resources in studying and improving data visualization techniques, social scientists have not fully embraced this trend. This paper argues that data visualization is an important aspect of quantitative reasoning and data literacy. It presents Edward Tufte’s principles of design and illustrates how they can be applied to empirical research results using an example from criminology. It discusses the skills and software needed to effectively implement these design principles and addresses the technical limitations of applying these techniques to typical social science analyses. Preliminary findings were presented at the 2007 International Association for Social Science Information Service and Technology (IASSIST) meeting.
