Development of a Digital Crime Mapping Platform for Community Security in Edo State

Communities in Edo State face challenges in coordinating security responses partly due to the absence of accessible tools for reporting and visualising crime incidents at the neighbourhood level. This study presents the development of a digital crime mapping platform enabling citizens and community security organisations in Benin City, Edo State, to report incidents, view spatial crime patterns, and communicate with local security operatives. The platform was built using React and Leaflet.js for the interactive map interface, with a Node.js and MongoDB backend. Citizens submit geo-tagged incident reports with category, description, and photographs through a web and mobile interface. Incident data are visualised on an interactive choropleth map, updated in near real-time. Community security organisation administrators can manage alerts and coordinate responses through an administrative panel. Development used Agile methodology across five two-week sprints. Functional testing validated geo-tagging accuracy, report submission, map rendering, and alert notification across 75 test scenarios. A six-week pilot in the Uselu and Egor LGAs of Benin City involved 180 registered users, who submitted 224 incident reports. Spatial analysis of reported incidents identified two high-frequency crime hotspots not previously documented by security authorities. Community security organisations reported improved response coordination using platform alerts. The study concludes that community-driven crime mapping platforms can strengthen neighbourhood security governance in South South Nigeria.

Keywords: crime mapping, community security, Edo State, geospatial platform, civic technology