Application of GIS for the determination of hazard hotspots after direct transportation linkages between Taiwan and China

A robust and reliable risk assessment procedure for the determination of transportation hazards between Taiwan and China needs to be developed. These hazards, which are related to mixed types of transport, including both air and maritime routes, play an important role in public security, and their effects need to be taken into consideration. After the implementation of direct cross-strait transportation, it has become necessary to master the spatial characteristics and distributions of maritime space policing cases and to plan effective control strategies in order to maintain public security. This study employs the Geographic Information System (GIS) technology to analyze the spatial locations of maritime cases that arose in the Taichung Harbor area from 2000 to 2010. The characteristics related to the spatial characteristics are surveyed, estimates are made utilizing the gathering and scattering model, hotspots are explored, and planned patrol and monitoring points drafted to provide assignment information for coastal patrol institutions. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013