GIS

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Anyone here familiar with using geographic information systems software? Would you have any recommendations on free applications, and/or those that are easy to use? I'm currently running a heatmap program in QGIS based directly on an online tutorial and am trying to get the hang of it, but it's far from intuitive, and either this isn't an exact science, or it's a science well beyond my comprehension.

My immediate (end of semester) goal would be to simply be able to produce a series of crimes on a municipal map and measure distance from one another through a heatmap/kernel density application. I don't know if I'd be able to measure time as well, or if I'd have to do that through Excel.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Hey gang, thanks for responding.

Jmrtex, I've been able to get on QGIS as far as the Heatmap application and was able to produce one through a tutorial, though the data handed me by my supervisor is either tainted or I'm in a situation of criminal incomprehension of how to manipulate this data.

As for my project, the "theory of near repeat victimization" essentially states that people/buildings/organizations near victims face temporarily elevated risk. Research projects on near repeat victimization tend to measure it in series of hundreds of meters/feet (for example, a chart showing the amount of subsequent burglaries occurring within 0-100 meters, 101-200 meters, etc.) and days/weeks. A composite chart in a study might show elevated risk within a series of categories distinguished by spatial/temporal distance from an initial offense. I can attach a few papers if you're curious. In theory I can somehow jigger a measure of time on an excel sheet; there are a few methods, including GIS, that I might be able to use to measure space. Right now I'm just trying to get a grasp of it so I can manipulate it to suit my purposes in the future. It's also an invaluable skill in certain fields.

My supervisor has yet to send me the actual burglary information.