Midnight Hackers

The Midnight Hacker program is taking at-risk kids off the streets and putting them to work mapping crime statistics with GIS.

by / June 30, 1996 0










In this case, information will be entered by the kids to create a neighborhood map that displays crimes as symbols. "It can identify a specific type of crime or several types of crime illustrated by different symbols," said Larry Dolton, principal at ViewPoint, a consulting firm based in San Francisco and another program sponsor. Dolton is donating his expertise as a programmer to set up and customize the mapping system to meet the department's specific needs.

"I'll be doing a number of different jobs, acting as a consultant to work with Atlas and building a custom program," he explained. "Atlas contains a custom programming language that works with Microsoft Visual Basic. I use design tools to create a front-end interface that contains buttons for making maps. On the back end, it will be automated to read the inputted data."

"By creating maps and gathering statistics," said Hebert, "the Police Department can get a better profile of what's happening on the streets without having to invest in additional resources. And the best part is that kids who might have been a part of the problem are now a part of the solution."

The experience of inputting information and seeing the outcome on maps will also educate young adults about geography and how it relates to daily life. "The more you understand about what's around you, the more you understand where you live and what goes on," said Dolton.

According to the participants, the real beauty of Midnight Hacker is that this kind of system is no more difficult than inputting data into a traditional database. "Certainly not everyone in the program is a future Bill Gates," said Hebert, "but we want to expose them to the whole world of technology and prove that it can be very easy to use."

"Hands-on computer training is valuable," said Luthard. "We don't want to only teach these kids word processing. We want to teach them how to use a system. Any exposure to computers is going to help them no matter what they end up doing. I'm working for a company that employs 6,000 people who work on top-of-the-line software. People learn wherever they go how the company uses a system. Any exposure to this kind of situation is going to be beneficial."

Aside from getting at-risk kids off the streets, Midnight Hacker's GIS training will open up new horizons. Teens will have a chance to earn money and apply their skills to a possible career in the field. "The GIS industry has really grown over the last five years and will continue to," said Dolton. "Businesses, government and Internet specialists are using it. There will definitely be jobs available for these kids to take."

Midnight Hacker, said Hebert, gives kids, "a chance to reconnect to their community. It's not like they're criminals. They're just kids who have parents working during the late night hours and have no structure or guidance to keep them out of trouble. It's also a way for them to use their idle time and do something that works for the entire community and positively affects businesses and government organizations."

"I think this is one of the most innovative projects that I've seen or heard about in my five and half years of doing community relations in the Bay Area," said Luthard. "It's taking at least three top-notch, well-respected organizations already successful in their own right, having them collaborate and come up with something to target this audience. I think it's going to work!"

Michelle Gamble-Risley is the publisher of California Computer News. She can be e-mailed at .


Atlas GIS is a full-featured geographical analysis tool with presentation capabilities and integrated database connectivity. It incorporates a user interface designed specifically for Windows and uses point-and-click access to information and commands. It features a page layout system to display completed documents and several style sheets to help users create professional-looking layouts.

The Address Finder CD of the United States is included in the program, and lets users find "geocoded" addresses. A layer management tool shows users exactly what they want and lets them click directly on-screen to change colors, settings, styles and visibility. And the presentation tools let users utilize their own bitmap symbols, and move, rotate or hide individual maps to create custom map presentations.