Integrating GIS and Remote Sensing for Crime Hotspot Analysis and Police Response Optimization in Owerri Municipal, Imo State, Nigeria

Rapid urbanization and increasing socio-economic activities have contributed to the growing complexity of crime in many developing cities, including Owerri Municipal, Imo State, Nigeria. Traditional methods of crime recording and response often lack adequate spatial intelligence for proactive policing and effective resource allocation. This study integrates Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Remote Sensing (RS), and Global Positioning System (GPS) technologies to map, analyze, and visualize crime patterns in Owerri Municipal for evidence-based urban security planning. Spatial and non-spatial datasets were obtained from police crime records, field surveys, GPS observations, structured questionnaires, and high-resolution SPOT-5 satellite imagery. The datasets were integrated into a geodatabase developed in ArcGIS 10.3 using the WGS 1984 geographic coordinate system. Spatial analyses, including hotspot mapping, proximity analysis, spatial querying, buffering, and overlay operations, were performed to identify