(Simon Fraser) University partners with police (in crime prevention analysis lab).

Powerful new computers are being switched on in the crime prevention analysis lab (CPAL) at Simon Fraser University, and the latest in software and security service is being installed. It signals a new era of fighting crime, made possible by combining the resources of innovative researchers, high-tech companies, and law enforcement agencies.

"This exciting new partnership is good news for everyone except bad guys," says Paul Brantingham, SFU criminology professor and co-director of CPAL. "We have, for example, all the data for 911 calls made in Vancouver over the past decade, which is unprecedented on the continent -- and now we also have greater capability to analyze such data. Other partners include Digital Equipment of Canada which donated a server and six computers, GE Capital Technology Management Services, Tetrad Computer Applications, ADT Canada, Panasonic Canada, and Microsoft Canada.

At the lab, spatial and temporal analysis of crime scene patterns will be used to identify the relationships between criminal activity and possible contributing factors. Studies will include the serial nature of crimes, crime scene patterns, and the fit between the offenders' motivations for committing offences and distribution in time and space. CPAL will assist police in visualizing and analyzing crime to deploying limited resources and providing information integral to community based policing.

"CPAL will eventually be able to help further reduce environmental factors which contribute to crime," Patricia Brantingham, also an SFU criminology professor and co-director of CPAL, adds. "We hope to determine, for example, what impact a new mall will have on crime in much the same way as impact on traffic is now estimated."