Visualizing the spatial movement patterns of offenders

Within spatial analysis, the decision-making process of individuals involves six interconnected and fundamental elements: current location, destination, distances, and directions, time budgets and type of activity, all of which influence the movement of people in their environment. In this paper we develop a visualization technique allowing for the display of the aggregate travel paths of offenders in order to identify patterns with it. We show that the patterns in the movement for offenders follows that of the major travel routes within the area and is centered in locations of the city-hubs. Results also indicate that significant movement of offenders occur between cities, not just within cities. Consequently, it is shown that urban form and understanding place play a strong role in criminal patterns and offender movement through the city landscape.