Rutgers unveils new crime fighting software

A new crime mapping software introduced by Rutgers University will help keep students safe by predicting future crime hotspots.

Rutgers University researchers Leslie Kennedy, director of the Rutgers Center on Public Security, and Joel Caplan, associate director of the Rutgers Center on Public Security, have created the next generation of crime prevention with their new crime mapping software, which uses environmental factors to predict future crime hotspots.

The new software called Risk Terrain Modeling Diagnostics Utility, which is sponsored by the university, uses environmental factors, such as the locations of ATMs or parks, to determine places that may be susceptible to certain types of crime.

Using big data, Kennedy and Caplan’s new way of creating crime maps is a departure from how police agencies have previously located crime hotspots by using past crime as an indicator of future crime.

(Next page: How new software will protect student safety)