HS Gridder is a MapBasic tool to assist with the spatial
and temporal analysis of crime locations within MapInfo Professional.
HS Gridder uses kernel density methods to identify and map crime hotspots
(clustering). HS Gridder first applies a Nearest Neighbour Index (NNI)
analysis to the data, to test for statistical significance. If clustering
is detected, analysis is completed on the data. The output is provided
in a MapInfo grid file (.mig), which is typically a very small file size,
and can be made to appear translucent in the map window.
HS Gridder also performs temporal analysis on crime data, counting records
by day of week, hour of day, or a combination of these. HS Gridder uses
the aoristic method when analysing times, so that 'From' and 'To' times
are considered. Output is provided in graphs/charts.
HS Gridder - The Solution
The HS Gridder tool enables the quick and easy production
of hotspot mapping. Originally developed for the Victoria Police Force
in Australia, the software has since been deployed to other Police Forces
including Surrey Police in the UK. The tool was designed to be 'police
proof' and adopts the 'big button' approach to very quickly generate a
hotspot map in seconds.
Version 2.0 offers settings and preferences to be made, larger
datasets to be processed and the ability to automate HS Gridder via MapBasic
and a settings file.
Hotspot Analysis
Users are able to select an entire table or a sub-selection of point
data to perform a hotspot analysis. Prompts are given to save the resultant
MapInfo Grid (mig) file, followed by the option of Simple or Advanced
settings. Most users will opt for the default values presented but the
Advanced settings allow for further options to produce Full Surface maps,
Smoothed or Raw Values, Equal Interval or Incremental Mean Ranges.
Temporal Analysis
The time and date of an offence are likely to be relevant to most crime
and disorder analysis. It is important to look at when an offence or cluster
of offences takes place. HS Gridder offers the following options:
Day of Week - Chart of the Count of records based on the day of
week they occurred.
Hour of Day - Chart of the Count of records based on the hour of day
they occurred.
Day + Hour - Chart of the Count of records based on which hour
in which weekday they occurred.
Pricing
HS Gridder costs £290.00 + VAT for a single user with options for
multi-user licences.
The upgrade cost from v1.5 is £115.00 + VAT for a single user
Minimum System Requirements
1.4 GHz or faster processor
256MByte RAM
Windows 2000/XP operating system
MapInfo Professional version 9 or higher