ABSTRACT

President Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing advised law enforcement agencies to ‘[e]stablish a culture of transparency and accountability in order to build public trust and legitimacy’ (2015, p. 12). Such transparency and accountability may be promoted through increased public access to crime data and measures of police activity. The inherently geographic nature of crime has made online maps one of the more popular strategies for disseminating this information to the public. As more agencies deliver crime maps on their own, or hosted websites, it becomes important for social scientists to evaluate how these communications affect public perceptions. Crime mapping is a complex process requiring many decisions. This includes choices about the type of crime to include or exclude, the type of map used, and numerous design features for the map itself. The field of critical cartography argues that all of these decisions have the potential to shape perceptions about a given geographic location, the people living there, and, in the present context, the people charged with maintaining public safety in the area. This study investigates whether different types of maps (i.e. dot vs. density) affect individual perceptions of safety, police performance and neighbourhood quality. Results indicate that the type of crime map viewed does alter perceptions, illustrating a need for careful and consistent decision-making when preparing crime maps for public access.

摘要

奥巴马总统的 21 世纪警务工作组建议执法机构“[e]建立透明和问责文化，以建立公众信任和合法性”（2015 年，第 12 页）。可以通过增加公众对犯罪数据和警察活动措施的访问来促进这种透明度和问责制。犯罪固有的地理性质使在线地图成为向公众传播此信息的更流行的策略之一。随着越来越多的机构在自己的或托管的网站上提供犯罪地图，社会科学家评估这些通信如何影响公众认知变得很重要。犯罪地图绘制是一个复杂的过程，需要许多决策。这包括选择要包括或排除的犯罪类型、使用的地图类型、以及地图本身的众多设计功能。批判性制图领域认为，所有这些决定都有可能影响对特定地理位置、居住在那里的人们以及在当前情况下负责维护该地区公共安全的人们的看法。本研究调查不同类型的地图（即点与密度）是否影响个人对安全、警察绩效和邻里质量的看法。结果表明，查看的犯罪地图类型确实会改变观念，这说明在为公众访问准备犯罪地图时需要谨慎和一致的决策。在目前的情况下，负责维护该地区公共安全的人。本研究调查不同类型的地图（即点与密度）是否影响个人对安全、警察绩效和邻里质量的看法。结果表明，查看的犯罪地图类型确实会改变观念，这说明在为公众访问准备犯罪地图时需要谨慎和一致的决策。在目前的情况下，负责维护该地区公共安全的人。本研究调查不同类型的地图（即点与密度）是否影响个人对安全、警察绩效和邻里质量的看法。结果表明，查看的犯罪地图类型确实会改变观念，这说明在为公众访问准备犯罪地图时需要谨慎和一致的决策。