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Risk Terrain Modeling began as original research by Leslie Kennedy and Joel Caplan at the Rutgers University School of Criminal Justice.

RTM: Spatial Risk Analysis

Risk Terrain Modeling (RTM) was born from rigorous research at the Rutgers Center on Public Security (RCPS). RCPS Associates continue to conduct cutting-edge research to innovate and advance RTM methods and spatial risk analysis techniques. Learn More about RCPS.

Originally, RTM was used for policing to identify risks that come from features of a landscape and to model how they co-locate to create unique behavior settings for crime. Today, RTM is used for a variety of topics: public safety, medicine, public health, epidemiology, social welfare, transportation, city planning, emergency management, disaster recovery, homeland security, retail asset protection, and maritime shipping.

RTM is by all intents-and-purposes a diagnostic method. With a diagnosis of the environmental attractors of human behavior, you can make very accurate forecasts. RTM offers a statistically valid way to articulate vulnerable areas for specific behaviors and events at the micro-level.

RTMDx: Software

RTMDx is powerful software that makes Risk Terrain Modeling easy. It utilizes RTM as its ‘engine’ and produces clear reports, bulletins and maps. Tour RTMDx | Learn More

RTMDx harnesses the super processing power of Amazon's secure cloud computing centers for fast and reliable analysis wherever and whenever you need it. Individuals, educational institutions, non-profit organizations, government agencies, and businesses use RTMDx. Smart cities rely on it.

The Crime Risk Kaleidoscope

The spatial dynamics of crime are not the same in different settings, even for the same type of crime. Think about it through the analogy of a kaleidoscope, which represents a particular jurisdiction; The shards of glass represent crime attractors, or features of the landscape, such as bars, fast food restaurants, or grocery stores. Moving from jurisdiction to jurisdiction represents a turn in the kaleidoscope. With each turn, the shards of glass come together in different ways, creating unique spatial and situational contexts that have implications for behavior at those places. RTM is identifies these unique behavior settings for crime in any jurisdiction. Read More