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Sep 26, 2006. RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK -- Data mining tools can be used to anticipate when and where future crimes are most likely to occur, according to Data Mining and Predictive Analysis: Intelligence Gathering and Crime Analysis, a new book by Colleen McCue, Ph.D., a senior research scientist at RTI International.

In her book, McCue explains her research that demonstrates how data mining and predictive analytics have helped identify crime trends, anticipate hotspots in the community and help law enforcement officials refine resource deployment decisions to better protect citizens.

"The same tools that are used to stock shelves at our local supermarkets can be used to create safer, healthier communities and enhance homeland security when applied to law enforcement," McCue said. "With some guidance regarding a few 'rules of the road' for data mining, and the application of off-the-shelf software tools, data mining is well within the reach of any organization that has an interest and willingness to put more science and less fiction into crime and intelligence analysis."

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The Richmond Police Department used McCue's data mining techniques to deploy officers for the New Year's Eve holiday, Dec. 31, 2003 and Jan. 1, 2004. During that time period, gunfire complaints were reduced by almost 50 percent from the previous year, even though illegal weapons in the area had increased by 246 percent during that same time frame.

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