ABSTRACT
The uses of GIS in law enforcement are expanding. A GIS is only as good as the data it contains. An agency can spend large amounts of money on acquiring hardware and software, but the most important component is the data. The mapping and analysis capabilities alone are not enough for a GIS to provide information for law enforcement agencies; a lot of data is needed, and the data should have a temporal component and must be able to be linked to other relevant community information (Block 1997). Agencies must have a clear idea of what the GIS will be used for in designing the database. It is important to have a database that will fit the agencies’ needs, and deciding these needs first will reveal what type and detail of data is needed. In the end, a well-designed database should be able to incorporate data from different sources; link to external sources of data; and perform geographic, attribute, and/or temporal queries.
