The Crime Mapping Research Center (CMRC), a government website dedicated to the world of crime mapping, is a highly recommended site for all analysts. Established in 1997, the goal of CMRC is “the promotion, research, evaluation, development, and dissemination of GIS (geographic information systems) technology and the spatial analysis of crime.”

The Crime Mapping Research Center home page provides links to FAQs, funding, training, research, publications, bibliography, conference, mapping tools, and CMRC staff.

• The FAQs have been developed to include the following areas: Getting Started in GIS, Hardware / Software, Funding/Grants, Publications / Statistics, Listserv, Conferences, Jobs / Fellowships / Internships, and General Information.



• Information on grants and other funding opportunities are available under the Funding button.



• General information on known government Training is provided, but no private sector entities are listed. The site links to other sites, rather than listing training dates, times, costs and related information.



• The Research button takes you to a page containing links to three research papers. A brief abstract summarizing the research project is provided for each paper.



• The Publications Gallery is nicely done with information on various recent publications on crime mapping and analysis. It is a very good resource for analysts new to crime mapping, too.



• The Bibliography provides a list of “Staff Favorite” publications, a link to National Criminal Justice Reference Services (NCJRS), several searchable Abstracts Database and suggestions for key words for conducting web searches.



• The Conferences link provides information on the annual CMRC Conference, normally held the first week of December with locations rotating throughout the country.



• The Mapping Tools button links to CrimeStat 1.1, Community Policing Beat Book, the Crime Analysis Extension for ArcView, RCAGIS, ReCAP-SDE and other software links.



• Anyone can submit Web Links for consideration to the webmaster. Links are provided to agencies with Data / Maps on the Web, GIS Resources, and Criminal Justice Resources.



• The last two buttons are the standard “Staff” and “Contact Us” pages, which provide information on who’s behind CMRC and information on how they can be contacted.

Users are able to access and join the Crimemap listserv from the CMRC homepage. CRIMEMAP, the CMRC's listserv, “serves as an information dissemination tool. CRIMEMAP was established by the CMRC in order to get crime analysts, researchers, geographers, and other interested parties communicating about computerized mapping technologies related to criminal justice applications. The listserv enables subscribers to post and respond to questions, and also serves as a vehicle for CMRC staff to announce upcoming conferences and new publications.” The list server is moderated with postings generally coming at the beginning of each workday.

The best part of the website is that CMRC is a well-known and reputable section of the U.S. Government. The quality of research and information provided by the Center has been recognized many times. The reliability and response from the staff is outstanding. If you haven’t ever visited CMRC’s website, I suggest you plan an hour soon and browse the site: link to CMRC