Open Data Visualized from Police Spreadsheets: A Case Study of Where Force, Race and Space Collided Item

Assets:data tables each for city of Indianapolis (IN) and Baltimore (MD) in MS Excel and MS Word, ditto shapefiles in ESRI format; all files ZIPPEDContext – abstract of report published in a blog at the serial Geospatial World:This case study called into question police conduct and policy injustice discovered in two American big cities. My path to learn about Indianapolis (IN) and Baltimore (MD) policing patterns and crime events was due to availability of open data focused on use-of-force (UOF). My specific goal was to conduct geospatial data analytics aimed at these two cities using location and other key variables. Two spreadsheets captured small data that laid acceptable statistical groundwork for iterations of exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA). Bivariate scatterplots revealed possible police misconduct. Parallel coordinate plotting – an innovative multivariate tool – was then used to display co-occurrences of plotted UOF and racial variables associated with key police districts in Indianapolis and Baltimore. A final summary visualization sought to cartographically and dramatically compare force and race variables by way of comparative plots, graphs, and maps. I closed with three action items pertaining to a “social-justice” framework for future data-visualization, to the heightening of standards for law enforcement reform, and for a need to make a hypothetical “citizen’s arrest” of police misconduct.

数据集素材：包含分别对应印第安纳波利斯市（印第安纳州，IN）与巴尔的摩市（马里兰州，MD）的数据表，存储格式为Microsoft Excel与Microsoft Word；另有分别适配上述两市的ESRI格式形状文件（shapefile），所有文件均已打包压缩。
研究背景：节选自系列博客《Geospatial World》刊载的研究报告摘要：
本案例研究对美国两座大城市中发现的警务行为与政策不公现象提出了质疑。我之所以能够开展印第安纳波利斯与巴尔的摩两市警务模式及犯罪事件的相关研究，得益于可获取的聚焦于武力使用（Use-of-Force, UOF）的开放数据集。我的具体研究目标是，基于位置信息与其他关键变量，针对这两座城市开展空间数据分析工作。两份电子表格收录的小型数据集，为多轮探索性空间数据分析（Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis, ESDA）奠定了合格的统计基础。双变量散点图揭示了可能存在的警务失当行为。随后，平行坐标图——一种创新性的多变量分析工具——被用于展示印第安纳波利斯与巴尔的摩两市重点警区相关的武力使用（UOF）与种族变量的共现情况。最终的总结可视化成果旨在通过对比绘图、图表与地图，以制图学视角直观显著地对比武力使用与种族相关变量。最后，我提出三项行动倡议，分别对应：未来数据可视化工作的"社会正义"框架、提升执法改革标准的需求，以及针对警务失当行为开展假想"公民逮捕"的必要性。