CMAP CASE
(Crime Analysis Spatial Extension)

NOTE: There is no technical support available for CASE. The product was developed as a free download, and as such, there is no funding for ongoing support.

One of the best sets of GIS tools available to the crime analyst was developed for the science of Ecology; specifically, the United States Geological Survey's homegrown ArcView extension, Animal Movements. The Animal Movement Analysis ArcView Extension developed by the Alaskan Biological Science Center (USGS) is a free add-on to ESRI's ArcView desktop GIS software application that provides ArcView users with numerous functions to analyze and predict spatial information. The extension was developed by Hooge and Eichenlaub in 1997. Dr. Hooge is a Research Population Ecologist and Mr. Eichenlaub is the GIS Coordinator for the Glacier Bay National Park. The Animal Movement extension is a collection of more than 40 functions to aid in the analysis of animal movement data. The extension fills a definite void in the availability of affordable, powerful tools to incorporate into one's GIS.

The Animal Movement Extension has been widely used by crime analysts around the world, and has been a key component of training offered by the Crime Mapping & Analysis Program. Unfortunately for crime analysts, ESRI’s decision to abandon the ArcView 3x design architecture in favor of a Visual Basic-built new paradigm in ArcGIS 8x and 9x meant that extensions and scripts written for “old” ArcView would not work in the new versions of their software. Dependence upon the Animal Movement Extension by law enforcement analysts was in some cases so great that agencies refused to “upgrade” to versions of ArcView that would not support it. Yet ESRI insisted that older versions of ArcView would not be supported, potentially leaving police analysis shops in the cold.

In 2004, the Crime Mapping & Analysis Program decided to undertake the challenge of rewriting the Animal Movement Extension for the newer ArcGIS design architecture. At the same time, it would also be made more streamlined for crime analysis purposes and gently steered away from zoological terminology.

Released in January 2005, the Crime Analysis Spatial Extension (CASE) v1.0 contains several of the most-used tools from the Animal Movement Extension. Additional functionality will be added in subsequent releases. While most of the functions found in CASE mirror those found in the older AMX, they are not merely reproductions. In most cases, the functionality has been improved.

The Crime Analysis Spatial Extension (CASE) for ArcGIS 8x and 9x represents a continuation over the terrific utilities provided by the earlier Animal Movements Extension developed by the US Geological Survey. This first release contains the tools most often used by crime analysts; subsequent releases will offer more tools as time goes by. While the original extension was developed by biologists and had to be “adapted” for use by crime analysts, these tools have been optimized for use by crime analysts, and contain some refinements that make them easily incorporated into an analytical process. 

NOTE: There is no technical support available for CASE. The product was developed as a free download, and as such, there is no funding for ongoing support.

If you are unsure if your computer already has the .NET Framework, please consult your IT administrator prior to downloading.

• Click here to download CASE for ArcGIS 9.2 (with .NET 2.0)

• Click here to download CASE for ArcGIS 9.2 (without .NET 2.0)

• Click here to download CASE for ArcGIS 9.1

• Click here to download CASE for ArcGIS 9.0

• Click here to download CASE for ArcGIS 8
  Once downloaded, run or double-click the self-extracting installation file. CASE will walk you through the installation.

• Click here for on-line CASE Help

• Click here to download the CASE Analysts Guide (PDF)

• Click here to view the CASE lessons tutorial.

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CASE Lessons!

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CASE User's Guide

Click here to download the CASE Analysts Guide

The CASE Analysts Guide provides information on how to use the CASE tools to perform crime analysis. It is not a "how to" but more a "why and when to" guide to using CASE.