GIS: A weapon to combat the crime

The common concept about GIS is not clear, many people think of GIS as a computer tool to make maps. But in real fact, GIS is a complex technology. GIS is "a digital representation of the landscapes of a place (site, region, planet), structured to support analysis". GIS can play a robust role in many fields of life including the public security or combating crime. During the past few years, the law enforcement agencies are using GIS to control the crime. With GIS, the traditional statistical information used in crime analysis is made available in the form of maps, which shows specific crime patterns and geographical relationship among several factors associated with crime events. By applying GIS, law enforcement agencies can be more effective in their efforts towards reducing / preventing crime. This paper will include the ways to combat the crime and review of different software used for reducing the crime. Further, this paper will discuss the applications of GIS in different part of United States where GIS is successfully used; and applications of GIS in Pakistani scenario,will also be discussed.