Environmental Criminology Research Inc. (ECRI) develops and supplies software for advanced crime analysis to police, military and security customers. The company is based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
ECRI’s Rigel™ professional geographic profiling system was first introduced in 1997 with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), then with the National Crime and Operations Faculty (NCOF) in the UK in 1999, and with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) in the United States in 2000. ECRI’s products are now used by national, regional and local police agencies throughout the world, in applications from ranging from serial murder investigation to counter-terrorism to reducing local property crime.
ECRI’s patented geographic profiling technology is based on the pioneering work of Dr. Kim Rossmo, who developed the concept of geographic profiling as part of his doctoral research in criminology at Simon Fraser University in the early 1990s while simultaneously serving as a police officer on the Vancouver force. From 1996 – 2000 he served as the Detective Inspector in charge of a special Geographic Profiling Unit at the Vancouver Police Department which trained geographic profilers from other international police agencies. He is now a research professor at Texas State University, heading the university’s Center for Geospatial Intelligence and Investigation. Dr. Rossmo helped to found ECRI in 1994, and has served as ECRI’s Chief Scientist and Chairman of the Board since inception.
Timeline
1986 – Geographic profiling conceived by Kim Rossmo
1990 – First operational geographic profile produced for the Vancouver Police Department (VPD).
1995 – Kim Rossmo receives his doctorate in criminology for his work on geographic profiling.
1995 – VPD establishes the world’s first Geographic Profiling Section.
1996 – ECRI releases prototype geographic profiling software "Orion".
1997 – Investigators from other police forces begin formal geographic profiling understudy training at the VPD.
1997 – First version of Rigel Geographic Profiling software ships.
2000 – UK police offer geographic profiling services in Europe.
2000 – "Geographic Profiling" textbook published by CRC Press.
2001 – National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center (NLECTC-SE) offers first geographic profiling analyst (GPA) training program for property crime.
2002 – ECRI releases Rigel Analyst for property crime.
2004 – ATF offers geographic profiling services at the federal level in the USA.
2005 – The Committee for GPA Training and Certification (CGPATC) is formed to administer the GPA program and issue GPA certification.
2006 – First military application of geographic profiling.
Environmental Criminology Research Inc. is registered under the Government of Canada Controlled Goods program
