Reconstitution of the Journeys to Crime and Location of Their Origin in the Context of a Crime Series. A Raster Solution for a Real Case Study

in Leitner, Michael (Ed.) Crime Modeling and Mapping Using Geospatial Technologies (2012)

In the region of Charleroi (Belgium), a series of criminal acts were committed by the same group, using the same vehicle. The events were located in space and time. The car used during these criminal ... [more ▼]

In the region of Charleroi (Belgium), a series of criminal acts were committed by the same group, using the same vehicle. The events were located in space and time. The car used during these criminal activities was stolen (first event) and was later retrieved (last event) after a period of 4 days of offences. Police recorded a crucial clue: the total mileage covered by the vehicle between the first and the last event was estimated with an admissible approximation. Thanks to this information, we were able to choose the most probable journey-to-crime among several scenarios. These depended on the combination of cost surfaces built with distance propagation algorithms starting from each criminal event in raster mode. The distance propagations were limited to the road network and the combinations of the cost surfaces had to respect the chronology of the facts. The most plausible scenario suggested that the criminals hided the car into a withdrawal site between their activities. In order to improve the precision of the location of this withdrawal site, we used a multi-criteria analysis taking account of the journey of the vehicle and other environment variables. At the end of these treatments, the small stretch of road that we isolated actually included the withdrawal site, as confirmed by the police later [less ▲]

Analyse préalable à une infrastructure de données au Maroc

in Billen, Roland; Binard, Marc; Hallot, Pierre (Eds.) et al Actes de la conférence internationale de Géomatique et Analyse Spatiale 2012 (2012, October)

In this paper, we discuss ways of promoting a spatial data infrastructure (SDI). Further considerations regulating the organizational infrastructure, the development of tools and models taking into ... [more ▼]

In this paper, we discuss ways of promoting a spatial data infrastructure (SDI). Further considerations regulating the organizational infrastructure, the development of tools and models taking into account the diversity of actors is inevitable to achieve the objectives of an SDI. Our study focused on the technical prerequisites for the establishment of an SDI in Morocco. An ontological approach to the reference spatial data has facilitated the definition of object types when cataloging reference entities, as well the concepts used in conceptual modeling. A feature catalog complying with ISO 19110 is developed using the principles of this ontology illustrating the independence and complementarity of object types, their adaptability to specific application domains and their inheritance. This approach allows establishing a reference model, that is to say a base structure which can be adapted to a wide range of applications. Developments of this work aim to sensitize policy makers about the introduction of an SDI in Morocco. [less ▲]

Systèmes géodésiques et projections "Lambert belge"

Learning material (2012)

Cartographic and geodetic coordinate systems. Local and spatial datums. Successive versions of the Lambert conic conform (LCC) projection used in Belgium

Reconstitution of the journeys to crime and location of their origin in the context of a crime series. A solution for a real case study.

Conference (2010, April 15)

Dynamic studies in crime analysis usually use distance-decay models applied on isotropic surfaces. If the distance actually traveled within the context of a crime series can be estimated, another approach ... [more ▼]

Dynamic studies in crime analysis usually use distance-decay models applied on isotropic surfaces. If the distance actually traveled within the context of a crime series can be estimated, another approach, independent of the widely discussed form of the distance decay, can be suggested. Besides, there is a need for studies on anisotropic space, especially in European cities, given their complex road network. Therefore, this study takes this aspect into account. We use data of a real case provided by the Belgian Police Department. Five criminal events have been committed in a short period of time by individuals using the same stolen car before abandoning it. The milometer allowed the Police to estimate the mileage covered by the criminals. The purpose of the analysis is to map out all the possible journeys to crime in order to find the offender's hideout. First, we generate cost surfaces propagated from the locations of the criminal events over the dense road network in a high-resolution raster file. This provides a distance value for all pixels of the potential paths to each crime. Then these distances are cumulated for all criminal events and the sum is confronted to the recorded mileage. This gives a restricted list of road sections from which all event locations can be reached under the constraint of the mileage covered. These results are then refined through a multi-criteria analysis using exogenous data, such as land covers. The small area finally identified contains indeed the hideout as confirmed by the Police Department. [less ▲]

Une Grande Dame de la géographie au service de la recherche, de l'enseignement et du bien commun

in Bulletin de la Société Géographique de Liège (2009), 52

Anamorphose par ajustement d'un réseau de triangles irréguliers (T.I.N.)

in Joost, S.; Pointet, A.; Caloz, R. (Eds.) et al De la physique expérimentale aux sciences et systèmes de l'information géographique (2009)

Atlas de Belgique - Guide de lecture

Book published by Academia Press (2008)

Toute personne qui se déplace dans un environnement complexe souhaite pouvoir s'orienter et tente pour ainsi dire de «cartographier» l'espace dans lequel il évolue. Tant les personnes que les institutions ... [more ▼]

Toute personne qui se déplace dans un environnement complexe souhaite pouvoir s'orienter et tente pour ainsi dire de «cartographier» l'espace dans lequel il évolue. Tant les personnes que les institutions ont besoin d'une représentation compréhensible des environnements spatiaux dans lesquels elles vivent et se déplacent. Un troisième Atlas de Belgique est édité afin de répondre à cette nécessité, avec pour objectif d'ordonner l'abondance de données disponibles, principalement en les visualisant dans l'espace. L'actuelle société belge, avec sa complexité, ses fortes différenciations sociales et spatiales, ses anciennes oppositions et ses nouveaux fossés, est ainsi cartographiée. Le troisième 'Atlas de Belgique' tente de présenter les données d'un maximum de sources en faisant ressortir leur composante spatiale. [less ▲]

Les bases de données spatiales

in Cahiers de la Documentation = Bladen voor Documentatie (2006), 1

Derrière la « carte », média le plus commun pour accéder à l’information spatiale, il y a des données, qu’il a fallu collecter, mémoriser et gérer, sous forme numérique depuis près d’un demi-siècle. Les ... [more ▼]

Derrière la « carte », média le plus commun pour accéder à l’information spatiale, il y a des données, qu’il a fallu collecter, mémoriser et gérer, sous forme numérique depuis près d’un demi-siècle. Les données, spatiales ou géographiques, présentent plusieurs particularités dont la moindre n’est certes pas la présence, parmi ses caractéristiques, d’une géométrie censée traduire la portion de la surface terrestre portant une ou plusieurs propriétés thématiques. Indépendamment des techniques de collecte de l’information géographique (topographie, photogrammétrie, etc.), des techniques de visualisation (cartographie) et de traitement (analyse spatiale), la seule gestion de l’information a connu une évolution sensible au cours des dernières décennies. Partant de systèmes de fichiers, la gestion de l’information spatiale a successivement fait appel à des modèles de gestion de bases de données de plus en plus élaborés, au point d’exploiter aujourd’hui les ressources les plus pointues des bases de données réparties reposant sur un modèle objet-relationnel. [less ▲]

GIS Design and Implementation Methods: The MECOSIG Improvement and Updating Project

in Proceedings of the 25th UDMS Symposium (2006)

The usefulness of VHR images for public administrations in an urban hilly region

in Marçal, André (Ed.) "Global Developments in Environmental Earth Observation from Space" (2006)

This paper presents some results of the SPIDER project currently achieved in and around the city of Liège located in a hilly landscape. A Quick Bird image bundle product acquired on the 26th September ... [more ▼]

This paper presents some results of the SPIDER project currently achieved in and around the city of Liège located in a hilly landscape. A Quick Bird image bundle product acquired on the 26th September 2003 is used. Digital spatial data like Very High Resolution (VHR) satellite images could be provided to the public authorities of the Walloon region thanks to the Walloon cartographic gateway. In urban context and especially in hilly region, such images must be orthorectified using a Digital Surface Model (DSM). A 1 m resolution DSM was elaborated by exploiting all the 3D data available in the study area. Firstly, a TIN was generated from vector data (points, lines and polygons) selected, on the one hand, from the 1:50 000 (DTED-WGS) and the 1:10 000 (DTM- 10000, Top10v-GIS) cartographic database provided by the Belgian NGI and, on the other hand, from the 1:1 000 3D topographic database of the Walloon region (PICC). Then the TIN was rasterised and the DSM airborne LIDAR acquired along the main river-valleys is superimposed on the result. The ortho-image was then produced. The public authorities consider it as an end-product by itself which could be used in the place of the obsolete aerial orthophotos in the fast changing urban areas. Normally, the ortho-image of Liège should be available on the map server of the Walloon region in 2005, in order to check its usefulness for local and regional authorities. Moreover the local planning agency wish to take the opportunity of this study to update the spatial databases covering industrial and business development areas delineated on the urban plan. [less ▲]