Story originally printed in the Winona Daily News or online at www.winonadailynews.com

Published - Saturday, April 12, 2008

SMU student maps city vandalism trends using GIS technology

By Kevin Behr / Winona Daily News

Vandals will strike where they please, but one Saint Mary’s University graduate student found patterns that can predict when and where police might find graffiti and property damage.

Using geographic information mapping systems and crime data from the Winona Police Department, Brayton Grinnell discovered vandalism most often happens downtown and at the east and west extremes of town overnight on the weekends in September.

• >Click for a downloadable pdf file of Grinnell's GIS presentation on vandalism in Winona.

• Click for a downloadable pdf file of Grinnell's final paper on vandalism in Winona.

Earning his master’s degree in geographic information systems, Grinnell explained his research and presented his findings at Saint Mary’s University on Friday afternoon. He mapped all vandalism incident reported to police and used GIS technology to show relationships in space and time to compare changes in the crime between 2001 and 2006.

Specific “hot spots” he found included the downtown area between Huff and Franklin streets stretching south to the Winona State University campus; Mankato Avenue; the Winona Mall; Winona Senior High School; and the area surrounding the East End Recreation Center.

Grinnell also found that more than a third of vandalism incidents — 38.7 percent — happened within a block or two of bars. Police Chief Frank Pomeroy said that wasn’t surprising as most vandalism incidents involve intoxicated people who would never destroy property if sober.

David McConville, chairman of the Resource Analysis Department at Saint Mary’s, said there are plenty of real-world applications for research like this.

He said GIS technology creates databases that keep records of events while also having a sense of space and location in the world. It has essentially limitless uses and is found in school districts, agricultural sectors, police departments, banks and recreation services, he said.

“The world of information sharing is changing right before us,” McConville said.

Law enforcement is an obvious example. Grinnell said historically law enforcement was a reactive process: Crime happens; police react to it. With GIS, the process is becoming more proactive —allowing police to control, prevent and even predict certain crimes. Vandalism is one of them.

Pomeroy said that’s exactly what his department has been doing more frequently. By mapping where certain crimes happen, like burglary, for example, officers have been able to increase patrols in problem areas and do targeted enforcement of specific crimes such as vandalism and disorderly behavior.

Something he’s looking to do in the near future is install security cameras on Third Street, Main Street and in the area of the East End Recreation Center on Zumbro Street. Pomeroy said he hopes the cameras act both as a deterrent for vandalism and other crimes and as a device to catch offenders who flee the scene.

Contact Kevin Behr at (507) 453-3524 or at kbehr@winonadailynews.com.