THE GOAL OF THE GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM IS TO PROVIDE ACCURATE AND TIMELY DATA AND RELATED CONTEXTUAL INFORMATION TO BE USED IN CRIME CONTROL. BECAUSE LOCATION AND TIME ARE THE TWO MOST SIGNIFICANT VARIABLES IN EXAMINING CRIME PROCESSES AND PATTERNS, SOPHISTICATED ANALYSIS OF GEOGRAPHIC CRIME PATTERNS IS IMPORTANT IN DIAGNOSING PRESENT AND FUTURE CRIME TRENDS. THE BUFFALO CRIME MAPPING SYSTEM INCLUDES THREE FILES: CRIME DATA, CENSUS-UNIT ATTRIBUTE DATA, AND SPATIAL REFERENCE DATA. THE CENSUS-UNIT ATTRIBUTE DATA MAY BE RETRIEVED BY VARIABLE, BY SINGLE ITEM, OR BY LOCATION. THE COMPUTERIZED SYSTEM INTEGRATES THE CRIME AND CENSUS DATA BY A SERIES OF COMPLEX PROCEDURES. MAPS PRODUCED INCLUDE CRIME AND CENSUS MAPS, MAPS FOR ACADEMIC RESEARCH PURPOSES, AND INSTRUCTIONAL DISPLAYS FOR INFORMATION DISTRIBUTION TO THE PUBLIC. MAPS PRODUCED CAN REVEAL, FOR EXAMPLE, THE GEOGRAPHIC RELATIONSHIPS AMONG FBI INDEX CRIMES. OTHER APPLICATIONS INCLUDE USE OF DISAGGREGATED CENSUS INFORMATION, VISUAL REPRESENTATION OF DISAGGREGATED CRIME EVENTS, AND COMPUTATION OF INDEXES OR MAPS OF GENERAL CRIME TRENDS. THE SYSTEM'S VERSATILITY AND FLEXIBILITY MAKES IT A VALUABLE TOOL FOR VISUALIZING COMPLEX INTERRELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN CRIME AND SOCIOECONOMIC PHENOMENA. DIAGRAMS, ILLUSTRATIONS SHOWING SAMPLE MAPS, AND A REFERENCE LIST ARE INCLUDED. (CFW)