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The city purchased the program about two months ago for $ 15,000 . Investigators who use the program were then trained by Jennifer Hughes, who works for the city as a geographic information systems program analyst . Most of the information included in LG Crimes was already available to police officers . The difference is they now can find if all in one spot. "It cleans it all up and puts all the important information in one bundle," Smith said . "The information was always there . It compiles if into one easy tool ." Now, Smith doesn ' t have to flip through all the reports of car break-ins to compare details . All he has to do is look at the bottom of his computer screen . Investigators can define their searches by neighborhoods , by specific streets , by landmarks and by crimes. They can quickly measure the distance between homes . They can do overhead views of an area . They can analyze crime hot spots . They can compare data on a monthly basis . They can even use it to predict where the next break-in might occur, said Jacksonville police Capt . Gary Dixon . " It helps with trends and patterns," Dixon said . "We can see if larcenies are up this month . We can see where they are located : ' Sometimes the information is helpful after a suspect is caught. "A lot of times, criminals who do one break-in will do other weeks later; ' Smith said . "If you can solve one crime , you can usually solve many more ." That kind of match game is important to investigators , Smith said . "Just looking at it visually helps us out sometimes; ' Smith said . "Sometimes we don ' t connect the dots until we see it . Sometimes another investigator is working on a crime, and you don 't know it ." All crime reports that are typed into the Police Department's computer system can be accessed through LG Crimes . The information is updated about every 10 minutes, Hughes said . Smith probably uses LG Crimes about three times a week to assist with investigations. The program also allows the Police Department to organize drug raids with visual aids . The overhead view of the city allows officers to see where the house to be raided is located . They can identify what 's around the house . If it is located near a wooded area , the program can even illustrate a break in the woods or the distance a house is from a school , Smith said . We can see it from every angle," Smith said . "We know what buildings surround the house . We know who owns the house ." * Case Study Courtesy of Jacksonville Daily News 07 Field access to Geo-Spatial Data An advanced method for accessing spatial data in the field is through the use of the existing laptops . A GIS mobile data browser can be loaded on mobile computers , allowing the some capabilities offered by map books , coupled with the ability to conduct address searches ; query attributes of all information , such as schools , types of hazardous material stored at a location ; link to digital site plan images , and more . The Sheriff ' s Office indicated a need for the use of notebook computers to assist with incident and crime mapping . At present, the Sheriff ' s Office has notebook computers in all of its 130 patrol vehicles . These notebook computers will serve as the foundation for field access to GIS data . In coordination with the recommended GIS Director and the Computer Services Section , these notebooks should be configured with a GIS data browser that includes AVL and routing functionality. All relevant layers , including base map layers and aerial photography should be available for display in the GIS data browser. It should be noted that highly accurate geo-spatial 250 GIS Needs Assessment and Implementation Plan Chapter 1 - Departmental GIS Needs Assessments