Spatial analysis of crime data: The case of Kasoa in the central region of Ghana

Abstract

Kasoa has long been associated with crime issues in Ghana, appearing in both traditional and digital media. There has been a plethora of efforts made by security agencies to nip the crime issue in the bud. However, in recent times, as there has been the use of advanced technology in the fight against crime in other countries, the lack of it in our part of the world seems to put a strain on the efforts of the police service. This research sought to bring to light the application of technology in crime management. The main goal of this study was to analyze spatial patterns and distributions of crime in the Kasoa Police Division. The study concentrated on five police districts, i.e., Kasoa Central, Awutu Bereku, Senya Bereku, Odupong Ofaakor, and Bawjiase. In order to achieve this objective, secondary data on three selected crimes, i.e., robbery, assault, and fraud, for three study years, i.e., 2017–2019, was obtained from the police, and a dataset containing land uses of the study areas was obtained from the Town and Country Planning Department. QGIS was used to identify hotspots for the selected crimes for each study year. The software was also used to identify the location of frequent activity within the study area. As a result, the study discovered Kasoa Central to be a hotspot for the majority of crime incidences during the selected years, as well as a location of frequent activity. The study concludes that there is a positive correlation between locations of frequent activity and incidences of crime if police visibility is not strengthened. It was recommended that the police must setup GIS departments at all police district offices to help with data collection, ensure that other stakeholders are considered when putting in place measures to help curb crimes, and also encourage community policing to ensure reasonable police visibility.