Janice Lee graduated from UW in 2005 with a degree in Geography and a Diploma of Excellence in Geographic Information Systems, and worked for a time with the Durham Regional Police Service as a Crime Analyst.
My responsibilities included identifying areas of criminal activity in the City of Pickering and Town of Ajax and evaluating crime series, patterns and trends in the area.
I worked with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and statistics to complete these tasks as well as to produce analytical reports for members to use in investigations and policing operations.
With GIS, spatial inferences can be drawn from crime occurrences to help develop problem-solving initiatives for crime management, resource allocation, and other operational needs. GIS offers mapping tools to show the distribution of crime and analyze attributes such as location, time and target of events. More information on the role of GIS in crime analysis can be found at ww.esri.com/industries/lawenforce/business/crime_anal.html.
The Geography program at University of Waterloo, particularly the courses under the Geomatics specialization, provided the background and skills in GIS and statistical analyses that are required for this position.
The position involved practical and valuable application of spatial and statistical analyses. I was excited to find a position that reflected my interest in GIS.
The best part was being able to contribute to criminal investigations and help promote community safety.
I chose the Geography program as it offered courses in two specialties which I was most interested in – GIS and physical geography. I found that the Geography program had a desirable variety in courses which I could explore.
I personally found my co-op experiences quite beneficial, whether it was the job application process, the interviews or the co-op placement. I would recommend students to consider this option in their studies.
