BatchGeo
MapMe
Google Fusion
Pros and Cons of BatchGeo, MapMe, and Google Fusion:
After creating the three maps based on the number of arrests in different police departments, I have found that MapMe was the easiest and most efficient mapping tool for police data. The hardest mapping tool to work with was Google Fusion Tables because I was not able to map large amounts of data, had to separate addresses by street, city, and zip code, and the mapping process did not pose many obstacles when I manually inputted data into Google Fusion. When I uploaded the Google Sheets/Excel file, it was difficult to map out the points because in police data, there are many categories and subcategories of arrest. For BatchGeo, the mapping was simple and efficient, but I was not allowed to input any additional information. For example, within each police department, there were a number of offenses such as assaults, kidnapping, homicides, etc and in BatchGeo, I would have to click on the police department which would then lead me to different offenses. This visual is not as effective because it is easier to hover over a point and have the information pop out than have the individual searching for the information.
What was good about MapMe was that it allowed me to input the addresses in one form. I did not have to separate by street or zip code and the mapping tool is straight forward for beginners and efficient. MapMe also allowed me to input information in the description box which allows the person viewing the map see the number of offenses in different police departments when the computer mouse is hovered over the point on the map. What is good about BatchGeo is that there is a box to drag/copy data from a spreadsheet, generates map within seconds, and is simple. As a result, the best mapping tool to use for police data would be MapMe because MapMe can handle a lot of information, does not require the address to be separated, allows the user to input additional information, and is simple enough for beginners to understand.
