“Most spatial data are inaccurate,” University of New Mexico geography professor Paul Zandbergen told the Los Angeles Times. Apparently so. The LA Times reported yesterday that it had discovered massive geocoding errors in the Los Angeles Police Department’s online crime map which launched in 2006. According to the paper, current geocoding technologies can’t always parse addresses into coordinates. In the LAPD’s crime map, offenses that occurred in such locations would default to a point near the Times and LAPD headquarters. In fact, in the last six months, 4 percent of crimes in Los Angeles occurred in the area. According to the maps at least. The real number is likely much less.
In reality, geocoding errors can have some serious implications. Think about this for a second. I have a child on the way right now. What if I used a similar hypothetical map for Winnipeg to look for low crime areas or those without residing sex offenders to help me decide where to buy a house. A simple geocoding error could cause me to unknowingly make a decision to move my family into an area of potential danger. That makes me pretty uncomfortable.
Is it time to come up a comprehensive set of enforced standards for projects such as these?
