Integrating GIS and Spatial Analytical Techniques for Smart Policing in Ghana

Crime fighting and prevention has become very challenging in Ghana in this era of technological advancement. The Ghana Police Service (GPS) is the legally mandated institution to maintain law and order and protect lives and property. For the police to effectively carry out their mandate, they must shift from the use of manual policing methods to the use of technology. There have been a series of studies in policing in Ghana, with the majority focusing on police professionalism, police corruption, police-public relations, and police political impartiality. However, there has been little research conducted on how the use of technology impacts the effectiveness of policing and on crime. This study addresses this gap in the literature and advances knowledge by exploring how Geographical Information Systems (GIS) integration could impact on police intelligence in crime management and prevention, resource allocation, and public safety in Ghana. Furthermore, the study assesses the advantages and disadvantages of the police use of GIS and the opportunities for policing reform. The study utilises a mixed methods approach (interview and survey) in data collection from police officers, GIS experts, and policing researchers. The key findings of the study are that:

• The implementation of GIS in policing in Ghana is possible due to the availability of Digital Property Addressing Systems (DPAS).
• GIS implementation could aid the GPS to identify crime hotspots.
• Aid quick access to information.
• Improve understanding of crime patterns and trends.
• Influence leadership in decision-making for crime prevention.
• Allow for more effective and efficient target patrols, deployment, and data-informed allocation of police resource.
• Improve proactive policing, community engagement, and public participation in policing as well as enhance police legitimacy.

Also, integrating GIS into policing could enable a series of reforms to policing methodologies, including enhancement in infrastructure allocation, evidence-based policing, deployment, spatial crime data generation and recording, and transparency in communications through publicly available crime data. Despite these key positive findings, the study identified challenges that might impede GIS adoption such as internet challenges, spatial data generation, financial constraints, low interest in ICT, lack of political will to invest in modern technology for policing, and poor understanding of GIS by police leadership. The key recommendations of this study include wider use of open software products such as Quantum Geographic Information System (QGIS), Africa Geoportal, and the ‘GhanaPostGPS’ app to minimise the impact of the challenges as well as improvements in partnership, collaboration and data interoperability between the GPS and other institutions for effective and efficient crime prevention.