GIS and Law Enforcement
Crime Mapping as Geographic Advantage For Proactive Policing and Informed Response
Remote sensing can be defined as the collection of data about an object from a distance. Scientists use the technique of remote sensing to monitor or measure phenomena found in on Earth and it’s atmosphere. Remote sensing is usually done with the help of mechanical devices known as remote sensors or platforms. These platforms have greatly improved the ability to receive and record information about an object without any physical contact. These platforms include helicopters, planes, and satellites. Most sensing devices record information about an object by measuring an object's transmission of electromagnetic energy from reflecting and radiating surfaces. This process is referred to as spectral resolution or signature. These sensors can be either passive or active. Passive sensors use sun energy while active sensors provide their own energy and can work properly during the nighttime.
Remote sensing imagery has many applications in mapping land-use and cover, agriculture, soils mapping, forestry, city planning, archaeological investigations, military observation, and geomorphological surveying, among other uses. For example, Criminal Justice system use of remote sensing includes mapping urban environments, mapping crime, planning for best emergency response, and most efficient use of resources.
In the late 1800s, cameras were positioned above the Earth's surface in balloons or kites to take oblique aerial photographs of the landscape. During World War I, aerial photography played an important role in gathering information about the position and movements of enemy troops. These photographs were often taken from airplanes. After the war, civilian use of aerial photography from airplanes began with the systematic vertical imaging of large areas of Canada, the United States, and Europe. Many of these images were used to construct topographic and other types of reference maps of the natural and human-made features found on the Earth's surface. As technology moved forward so did the advances in remote sensing imagery. Now day’s satellites are often used in remote sensing to provide scientists with the complete view of the globe and it’s atmosphere expending possibilities and understanding of the Earth.
Overview of Remote Sensing
