Why Map Prisoner Re-Entry?

"Mapping has been used effectively to address a wide range of criminal justice problems, from allocating police resources to understanding the underlying causes of crime. Yet, despite the variety of criminal justice mapping applications to-date, neighborhood-level incarceration and reentry data have been mapped in only a few cities throughout the nation. Even fewer cities have attempted to link incarceration and reentry data with other indicators of community well being. The lack of research and analysis on this topic is puzzling given that a communityís strategies to tackle problems resulting from prisoner reentry are bound to be more effective if they are informed by such information as the locations of returning prisoners, reentry services and resources, and parole offices."