Abstract

DNA Not Required
Track: Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice
Authors: Brodey Hill, Janice Rockburn

In Kent County, Michigan, prosecutors are learning that GIS can be as useful as DNA in narrowing down a suspect pool. A bizarre event in Michigan in 2011 inadvertently resulted in a partnership between county litigators and the GIS department, introducing prosecutors to the power of GIS as a jury-persuading tool. That teaming helped successfully convict a suspect in a high profile murder trial in Kent County based primarily on maps of cell phone activity on the day of the crime.