Using GIS to reconcile crime scenes with those indicated by serial criminals

Abstract

Sometimes, when serial criminals are caught, they admit to their crimes and are willing to point out crime scenes to the police. The South African Police Service (SAPS) then sends independent police officers with the suspect to document those locations he indicates. The CSIR has been assisting detectives and prosecutors to prepare selected cases for court, by compiling maps of the relevant details, which enhance the ability of the court to follow the proceedings of a complex case. For serial criminals, they show the crime scenes attributed to the suspect, those indicated by the suspect, and the routes taken by the suspect with the independent officers. When compiling such maps, great care needs to be taken over the accuracy of the data, which includes revisiting the scenes with a GPS receiver to record their coordinates. This quality assurance highlights discrepancies between the crime scenes described in case dockets and those the suspect pointed out, allowing the investigators to link additional dockets to the suspect. It also highlights any errors there might be in the compilation of the original dockets, allowing the prosecutor to present a better case to the court. This paper describes how crime mapping and analysis can be used to link unsolved case dockets to a suspected serial criminal, and how it can be used to enhance the quality of a case for presentation in court.