Spatial Technology As a Tool to Analyse and Combat Crime
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
SPATIAL TECHNOLOGY AS A TOOL TO ANALYSE AND COMBAT CRIME By CORNÉ ELOFF Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree DOCTOR OF LITERATURE AND PHILOSOPHY in the subject CRIMINOLOGY at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA PROMOTER: PROF. J H PRINSLOO NOVEMBER 2006 Student No: 3034-380-1 I declare that SPATIAL TECHNOLOGY AS A TOOL TO ANALYSE AND COMBAT CRIME is my own work and that all the sources that I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete references. ____________________________________ ______________ Corné Eloff Date i KEYWORDS Border control and monitoring Car-hijacking Crime analysis Crime combating Crime hot spots Crime incidents Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) Criminological theories Criminology Earth Observation Satellites Ecological theory Electromagnetic energy Geographical Information Systems High density residential House Burglaries Hyperspectral Informal Settlements Land use classification Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) Low density residential Macro analysis Mapping Micro analysis Murder Object Orientated Image Analysis Orbital science Rape Remote Sensing Remote sensing applications Spatial technology ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS • To my mother and father who have been pillars of support throughout my tertiary education since 1994. • To my wife (Sietske) and son (Damian) for their love and undivided support during my research. • To all my colleagues at the CSIR Satellite Applications Centre for their support and sharing their knowledge of remote sensing and space science which contributed immensely to the gathering of information to complete this research. I would like to make special mention of Ms Elsa de Beer and Ms Betsie Snyman for their administrative support during this study. • Special thanks to Mr Willem Vorster for his assistance with the temporal macro classification of the Tshwane municipality area. • To Dr C P de Kock from the SAPS CIMC office for his assistance with providing the geo-coded crime data for analysis. The study results would not have been possible without the availability of this dataset. • To Mr Sarel Naudé from SITA for his strategic and operational support during the gathering of the geo-coded crime data and the insight provided into the BI/GIS system. • To Mr Peter Sevenhuysen from GeoTerraImage for the Growth Indicator Product layers which enabled me to complete the micro analysis of this study. • To Prof Johan Prinsloo from UNISA, Department of Criminology, for his commitment, passion and motivation during this study. He acted as iii a mentor, teacher and colleague who expanded my outlook of life which will create the platform for future contributions to the science of Criminology. • Last but not least, I would like to acknowledge the financial support of my employer, the CSIR. iv EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This study explores the utilisation of spatial technologies as a tool to analyse and combat crime. The study deals specifically with remote sensing and its potential for being integrated with geographical information systems (GIS). The integrated spatial approach resulted in the understanding of land use class behaviour over time and its relationship to specific crime incidents per police precinct area. The incorporation of spatial technologies to test criminological theories in practice, such as the ecological theories of criminology, provides the science with strategic value. It proves the value of combining multi- disciplinary scientific fields to create a more advanced platform to understand land use behaviour and its relationship to crime. Crime in South Africa is a serious concern and it impacts negatively on so many lives. The fear of crime, the loss of life, the socio-economic impact of crime, etc. create the impression that the battle against crime has been lost. The limited knowledge base within the law enforcement agencies, limited logistical resources and low retention rate of critical staff all contribute to making the reduction of crime more difficult to achieve. A practical procedure of using remote sensing technology integrated with geographical information systems (GIS), overlaid with geo-coded crime data to provide a spatial technological basis to analyse and combat crime, is illustrated by a practical study of the Tshwane municipality area. The methodology applied in this study required multi-skilled resources incorporating GIS and the understanding of crime to integrate the diverse scientific fields into a consolidated process that can contribute to the combating of crime in general. v The existence of informal settlement areas in South Africa stresses the socio-economic problems that need to be addressed as there is a clear correlation of land use data with serious crime incidents in these areas. The fact that no formal cadastre exists for these areas, combined with a great diversity in densification and growth of the periphery, makes analysis very difficult without remote sensing imagery. Revisits over time to assess changes in these areas in order to adapt policing strategies will create an improved information layer for responding to crime. Final computerised maps generated from remote sensing and GIS layers are not the only information that can be used to prevent and combat crime. An important recipe for ultimately successfully managing and controlling crime in South Africa is to strategically combine training of the law enforcement agencies in the use of spatial information with police science. The researcher concludes with the hope that this study will contribute to the improved utilisation of spatial technology to analyse and combat crime in South Africa. The ultimate vision is the expansion of the science of criminology by adding an advanced spatial technology module to its curriculum. vi CONTENTS PAGE KEYWORDS II ACKNOWLEDGMENTS III EXECUTIVE SUMMARY V LIST OF FIGURES XIII LIST OF TABLES XVI LIST OF GRAPHS XVII LIST OF DIAGRAMS XVII CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.2 DEFINITIONS 2 1.2.1 Criminology 2 1.2.2 Criminological theories 2 1.2.3 Crime 2 1.2.4 Criminologist 3 1.2.5 Murder 3 1.2.6 Burglary 3 1.2.7 Robbery 3 1.2.8 Rape 3 1.2.9 Electromagnetic energy 3 1.2.10 Electromagnetic radiation 4 1.2.11 Remote sensing 4 1.2.12 Spatial Technology 4 1.2.13 Crime analysis 4 1.2.14 Crime combating 4 1.3 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM 5 1.4 RESEARCH AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 6 1.5 METHODOLOGY 6 1.5.1 Selection of study area 6 1.5.2 Spatial analysis techniques 7 vii 1.5.2.1 GIS project management 7 1.5.2.2 Macro analysis 8 1.5.2.3 Micro analysis 8 1.5.2.4 Statistical analysis and thematic maps 9 1.6 RESEARCH RESULTS 10 1.6.1 Macro results 10 1.6.1.1 Commercial land use class 10 1.6.1.2 Industrial land use class 11 1.6.1.3 Informal land use class 11 1.6.1.4 Residential high-density class 12 1.6.1.5 Residential low-density class 12 1.6.2 Micro results 13 1.6.2.1 Consolidated micro analysis 13 1.6.2.2 Informal settlements 13 1.6.2.3 High-density houses 13 1.6.2.4 Low-density houses 14 1.6.3 Crime analysis 14 1.6.3.1 Murder 14 1.6.3.2 House burglaries 15 1.6.3.3 Car hijackings 15 1.6.3.4 Rape 16 1.7 THESIS OUTLINE 16 1.8 CONCLUSION 17 CHAPTER 2: THE ROLE OF CRIMINOLOGICAL THEORY IN ASSESSING THE SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF CRIME 19 2.1 INTRODUCTION 19 2.2 MAJOR THEORETICAL APPROACHES IN CRIMINOLOGY 21 2.2.1 Demonological theory 22 2.2.2 Classical theory 26 2.2.3 Neoclassical theory 30 2.2.4 Marxist / Conflict theory 31 2.2.5 Positivist theory 34 2.2.6 Sociological theories 38 viii 2.2.7 Social structure theories 43 2.2.7.1 Strain theory 45 2.2.7.2 Social disorganisation theory 46 a) Shaw and McKay's concentric zones theory 48 b) Ecological theories of crime 51 i) Defensible space 51 ii) Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design 52 iii) Situational crime prevention 54 iv) Routine activity theory 54 v) Crime pattern theory 56 vi) Crime prevention through planning and design – South African perspective 58 2.3 THE INTEGRATION OF CRIMINOLOGICAL THEORY 61 2.4 THE USEFULNESS OF CRIMINOLOGICAL THEORY 66 2.5 CONCLUSION 67 CHAPTER 3: REMOTE SENSING AND FUTURE RELATED TECHNOLOGIES 69 3.1 INTRODUCTION 69 3.2 ELECTROMAGNETIC ENERGY 70 3.3 ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM 73 3.4 IMAGE CHARACTERISTICS 74 3.5 REMOTE SENSING SYSTEMS 77 3.5.1 Characteristics of real remote sensing systems 79 3.5.2 Satellite scanning systems 81 3.6 ORBITAL SCIENCE 84 3.6.1 Injection into orbit 85 3.6.1.1 Orbital elements 85 3.6.1.2 Earth observation orbit types 86 3.7 EARTH OBSERVATION SATELLITES 87 3.7.1 Earth observation satellite history 87 3.7.2 The first remote sensing sensors 88 3.7.3 Earth resource satellites in operation 89 3.7.3.1 Current earth observation satellite missions 89 ix 3.7.3.2 Future missions 97 3.8 FUTURE TECHNOLOGIES 98 3.8.1 Very high resolution satellites 99 3.8.2 Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) 102 3.8.3 Hyperspectral imagery 105 3.8.3.1 The imaging spectrometer 107 3.8.3.2 The Airborne Prism Experiment (APEX) 108 3.8.4 High Altitude Long Endurance Unmanned Aircraft Vehicles (HALE UAVs) 109 3.8.5 Object orientated image analysis 114 3.8.5.1 Image segmentation 114 3.8.5.2 Processing steps: From source data to classification product 116 3.9 REMOTE SENSING APPLICATIONS 118 3.9.1 Land use/land cover mapping 120 3.9.2 Mapping 122 3.10 REMOTE SENSING APPLICATIONS FOR SAFETY AND SECURITY 124 3.10.1 Border control as a safety and security application example 125 3.11 CONCLUSION 128 CHAPTER 4: TEMPORAL SPATIAL ANALYSIS WITHIN THE TSHWANE MUNICIPALITY BOUNDARIES TO DETERMINE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LAND USE GROWTH AND CRIME