Summary

In this chapter, we used many of the tools found in the Spatial Statistics Tools toolbox to analyze vehicle theft in Seattle, WA. After downloading the data and doing some initial data preparation, which is often the most time consuming aspect of any GIS project, we used a variety of tools to get a better understanding of the data. Initially, we used some basic descriptive statistical tools to get a general understanding of the data. The Central Feature tool gave us an idea of where vehicle theft is centered in the area, and the Directional Distribution tool was used as a basic tool for understanding both the distribution and the directionality of the data. Later, we used the Average Nearest Neighbor tool to determine if the data formed a clustered, dispersed, or randomly spaced pattern. In our case, the data exhibited a strongly clustered pattern. Next, the Hot Spot Analysis tool was run, and it produced an output that indicated hot spots of vehicle theft in the central and north...