Rigel Tips

TopicTipApplies to
CGT Risk Profile (inverse geographic profile)A risk profile is a secondary form of analysis that can be done after generating a standard geographic profile. A geographic profile answers the question for each grid cell on the map "what is the likelihood that the offender who generated the given pattern of crime sites is based in this grid cell?". Having generated that profile, the risk profile turns the question around and asks for each grid cell "given the geoprofile, what is the likelihood that the same offender will commit a future crime in this grid cell?". This produces what can be described as a risk surface, based solely on the geographic pattern of the crimes in the scenario.

Two caveats to be aware of:
1) This is a probability based on a probability, so the likely accuracy is correspondingly reduced. It is a general guide only.
2) There is no concept of time, no indication of when a future crime is likely to happen or what the order of future crimes might be.

It would be of the most use when combined with a possible target list (e.g., other similar banks in the area for a bank robbery series) and a time indication such as average frequency of the crimes in the series.
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Comparing scenario statisticsTo compare the statistics of various scenarios you have created side-by-side, display the Scenario Manager window (main menu under Data - Crimes, or the main toolbar icon), Statistics of all the scenarios created for the case are shown in table format, and will update automatically if you leave the window open while adding or changing scenarios and recalculating the statistics.All
Geocoding shortcut with Google MapsOn the Google Maps toolbar in the Rigel map window there is a Search icon (binoculars). If you click this, a Search field will pop up where you can type an address or a place name that Google Maps can recognize. Potential matches will be suggested as you type. When you pick one, the map will zoom to that location and a marker will pop up showing the exact location. If you right-click the marker, it will offer the option to convert that location to a Crime Site or Suspect Location. Click that, and the Add Crime/Suspect window will pop up with the address and coordinates filled in.All
Expert scenario commentsIf you have allowed the Geoprofile function to automatically create an Expert System Scenario with some crimes excluded, and you want to know which crimes were excluded by the Expert System and why, you will find this information in the Scenario Comments. Click the Scenarios icon on the toolbar to view the Scenarios window with Scenario Comments. You can also add your own Scenario comments in this window.All
Grouping in tablesTables in Rigel, such as crime and suspect tables, allow advanced grouping and sorting using built-in features of the table. Sometimes this can be very helpful in organizing your data, such as grouping by crime type and then sub-grouping by day of week. Right-click on the table column headings to see the advanced grouping and sorting options, All
Preserving case data when moving or re-installing RigelWhen you move Rigel to a new computer, you will probably want to copy your case database from the old system. Re-installing Rigel on the same computer does not affect the database, but you might want to make a backup copy for security anyway. You can make a database backup using the Rigel function Tools - Backup Database, If you have re-installed Rigel on a new computer, transfer the backup file to the new system, and use the function Tools - Restore Database. You will find the database backup file in your Rigel DBBackups folder, usually under ProgramData\ECRI\Data, with a name of the form SonarDatabaseSQL_longnumber.bak. Look for the one with the newest data and time if you just made a backup.All
Crime Types and Location Types managementWhen you add a crime site in Rigel, you can optionally specify the Crime Type, and for some types of crimes with multiple locations, the Location Type. In the past when you imported an external Crimes file, Rigel would automatically add any new Crime Type or Location Type to the existing type lists in your database. However, incorrect imports would sometimes result in junk values being added to clutter those lists. Therefore Rigel was changed in the current version to allow imports to use only Crime and Location types already existing in your lists, with unrecognized ones imported as blank. You can edit the lists under Tools - Crime Types Manager to add new values and to remove any created unintentionally in the past.All
Display crime/suspect labels on mapsYou can optionally display labels on the crime or suspect sites on your maps. The label will be either the crime/suspect number, or the crime/suspect ID if you have checked the Show Element IDs option under Preferences.
To turn the labels on or off, go to the Map Layers window and right-click on the master Crimes or Suspects layer entry. Select Show/Hide Labels from the right-click menu.
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Address geocodingWhen you enter a new site with an address or place name, or when you import files containing records with addresses but no coordinates, Rigel uses an address geocoding service to find the coordinates. The services available to Rigel on your system are listed under Preferences - Geocoders, and may include both local databases and internet services. You should be aware that if you use an internet geocoding service such as Google Maps, crime and suspect addresses are being sent to an outside service.
You can have more than one geocoding service enabled. If more than one is enabled, Rigel will check addresses against all of them, and accept the coordinates returned by the one with the highest assigned priority that returns a match. During interactive site entry and optionally during import Rigel can warn you if there is a significant mismatch between different services that returned a match, and you can pick the match you prefer.
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Google Maps issuesAs of Sept. 2018, Google Maps no longer offers a free embedded map source and address geocoder for applications. Google now requires a paid account to use these services within applications. Software attempting to display Google Maps without a paid account will display a pop-up error message from Google on top of greyed-out maps.
ECRI provides a paid Google account within Rigel for customers on software maintenance. Rigel also supports entering your own Google account "API key" under Preferences - Map Service - Google Maps. A software update post-Sept. 2018 is required.
Because bulk Google Maps address geocoding on import can be especially costly for large files, Rigel now displays a warning message when the user attempts this. The Google Maps geocoder is now disabled by default, replaced by the ArcGIS geocoder as the default, but it can be enabled on demand under Preferences - Geocoders.
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Using a report template without Microsoft OfficeRigel includes a number of standard report output templates for Word, PowerPoint, and general HTML format. The default is a Word .docx template, but if you do not have Microsoft Office, you can use the html template which can be opened by most word processors and text editors. If you do not have the html report template installed on your system, download it from the Customer Support Center or request it from ECRI.All
SQL Server DatabaseRigel uses a standard Microsoft SQL Server database. Normally this is the LocalDB version installed on the same computer as the program, but Rigel can also use a shared database server elsewhere on the network (see Database Preferences). You can even share a common Rigel case database with other agency users on a shared server, but you must be careful that only one user at a time attempts to edit the shared database. If you have installation problems with full SQL Server, Rigel supports fallback to the "light" SQL Server Compact Edition (CE), but that version has much lower performance, so you should attempt to resolve the installation problem rather than continue to use the CE version.All
Working with ArcGISRigel supports ESRI ArcGIS as a map provider up to version 10.6. Make sure that Rigel is installed after ArcGIS to ensure that a link is created. Rigel can share mxd map files with ArcGIS. You must set the mxd map file name to use in Rigel under Tools-Preferences - Map Service - ArcGIS. Two default mxd files are installed with Rigel - the low resolution World Map, and the high-resolution "Streets" version that links to ESRI's more detailed online World Map. You can then open an ArcGIS map window with an ArcGIS toolbar in Rigel alongside other map windows. The custom Rigel layers for sites and geoprofile exist only while the map window is open, but if you open the same map file in ArcGIS while Rigel is active, you can save the layers to a new map file.All
Importing Excel spreadsheetsRigel can import crime/suspect data from Excel spreadsheets in xls, xlsx, or exported csv format. You can select which sheet to import if there are multiple sheets. Your data should have at most one header line, follwed by identically-formatted data rows with no empty rows and no rows in a different format. Be sure to check the automatic field assignment in the Rigel import box and correct it if necessary before proceeding with the import. If the data does not appear to import correctly, go back and check your spreadsheet format and field assignment. If there are any issues with Excel, you might be able to resolve them by exporting the sheet from Excel to csv file format. Caution: spreadsheets originating from Mac Excel versions prior to 2011 may incur a 4-year date offset when moved to Windows Excel.All
Lat/long coordinate formatsWhen entering site lat/long coordinates in the program, Rigel expects either Decimal degrees format (example 49.215 N) or Deg Min Sec format (example 49° 16' 22" N). A leading negative is equivalent to West or South. Separators can be any of: -, space, °, ', ", N, n, S, s, W, w, E, e. When importing coordinates from csv or Excel files, minutes and seconds are also allowed to have a decimal fraction, so for example 49° 11.117' would be an allowed format.All
Importing duplicate crimesSometimes you may wish to import new crime data which overlaps with existing crime data in the database, either because the import file contains some new crimes mixed with old crimes, or because it contains new data for existing crimes. Rigel recognizes duplicate crimes by Crime ID, so if you want the crimes to be recognized as duplicates and not simply imported as new crimes, you must include the correct Crime IDs in the import file.
When Rigel recognizes a duplicate Crime ID in the import file, a prompt pops up asking you how you want to handle it. You may choose to keep the database version, replace the database version with the new import, make the import a new crime with a different crime ID, or Smart Merge, where new crime data from the import file is merged with existing data for that crime in the database. You can check the box to automatically repeat the same action for all crimes in the import file.
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Importing duplicate casesYou can create a duplicate case with a different Case ID by right-clicking on the case in the All Cases database table and selecting the option "Save case as...". The new case will include the same crimes from the database as the original (not duplicate copies).
You can also create a duplicate case by exporting the case to an xml file and then re-importing it as a new case. When you attempt to import a case that has a duplicate Case ID, a prompt will pop up to tell you that there is a conflict with an existing case in the database. Select the option "Import as new data" and the import will be assigned a new Case ID, appending a sequence number suffix to the existing Case ID.
When it comes to importing the crimes, again a prompt will pop up saying that there is a duplicate crime ID already in the database, and asking what you want to do. Select the "Import as new data" option to import it with a new crime ID and check the box to perform this action for all crimes in the import file. This will create the new case with separate new copies of all the crimes.
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Beaches and other boundariesWhen you prepare a geoprofile in a location where there is a hard boundary forming one side of the hunting area, such as a body of water, and the pattern suggests that the offender may live close to the boundary (for example on the waterfront of a seaside town), your profile may have to take into account that the offender is constrained to find targets to one side only. You can do this by mirroring the crimes across the boundary. That is, you add a duplicate of each actual crime site an equal distance on the other side of the boundary, so that a line drawn between the crime site and its mirror site crosses the boundary at a right angle. In the example case of a seaside town, this would cause the profile to center on the town rather than some distance inland.All
Customizing report templatesYou can edit the default Rigel report templates or create new ones. You will find the report template files in the Rigel data directory under Data\Reports\Templates. These are editable files in standard formats such as Word docx, PowerPoint pptx, or html.
The fields that Rigel fills in when you generate a report are indicated by placeholder tags in the text such as R#caseName#R. You will find in the Templates folder the file Report Tag Test Document.docx that describes all of the available tags.
The standard default report template is Default.docx. If you select a different report template when generating a report in Rigel, that is remembered as the new default template choice. You can edit the default template docx file without changing the name if you wish, but it is recommended that you copy it to a new file name and edit that in order to preserve the original for reference.
Of course you can always edit the report file after it has been generated if you just want to make a change that is unique for the current case.
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Annotating mapsIn Rigel you can draw annotations on the map to illustrate features of the case. Rigel provides access to the built-in drawing capabilities of the specific map service you are using (e.g., Google Maps, MapPoint, ArcGIS ...), so the capabilities will differ depending on which service you are using. With ArcGIS you can edit the base map independently in the ArcMap editor. while MapPoint provides a built-in drawing toolbar, and map modifications made in Rigel are saved as a ptm file with the case. Version 2.3 of Rigel adds new drawing tools to the Google Maps toolbar (polyline, circle, rectangle, polygon, color picker) to let you annotate the map, but the annotations can only be saved by map image capture.All
Custom map symbolsRigel has a Symbology Manager where you can create and edit your own custom symbol sets for crimes. You can assign symbols to correspond to any crime database criteria. For example you can assign custom map symbols for different crime types. A built-in example is the Day-of-Week symbol set, which assigns different symbols to crimes based on the day of the week on which they occurred. The Symbology Manager can be found under Database on the main menu.
To apply a custom symbology to your crimes, select the Crimes layer in the map layers manager, and choose the Symbology from the dropdown list in the layer properties at the bottom of the layers manager window.
To add additional symbols beyond those built in to Rigel, add your own icon image files to the folder ProgramData\ECRI\Images\pushpins
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Crime ID versus Crime NumberRigel assigns a unique alphanumeric Crime ID to each crime to identify it in the crime database. It may correspond to your agency's incident record ID, or you can allow Rigel to assign it automatically on import or creation. No two crimes can have the same ID, even in different cases.
When working within a case you may wish to refer to the crimes in a simpler way, usually by a crime number 1 to n. Rigel also allows crimes to have a Crime Number which applies only within that one case. You can renumber the crimes within the case at any time (menu function Data > Crimes > Renumber crimes). If you prefer to hide the Crime ID and work with Crime Number within a case, go to Tools > Preferences > Element IDs, and un-check the option "Show Element IDs".
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State Planar CoordinatesRigel supports the use of State Planar coordinates for locations within the United States, as these coordinates are frequently used by state maps and records systems. When importing State Planar coordinates, you must be sure to assign the fields correctly in the Import dialog box. You must identify the SPC Zone field, or else Rigel will assume that a field labeled "Zone" is a UTM zone. You must also correctly select Feet or Meters as the SPC units. If your crimes show up in the wrong place on the map after import, then you have not selected these fields correctly during import, and you should delete the import data set and try again.All
Database BackupsRigel can make a complete database backup on demand (Tools > Backup Database). You can assign your own name and description to such backups, which will appear in the Restore list. The database backup includes all of your crime and suspect data for all cases, your database lists, and many of the case settings and options.
You can restore a previous backup by selecting Tools > Restore Database, and selecting the specific backup you want to restore.
Rigel makes an automatic database backup on startup, and whenever you perform a major operation that affects a lot of data. These backups can be viewed by opening Restore Database and selecting the Automatic Backups option at the top of the list. If you get into trouble, you can use these automatic backups to restore your database to an earlier state.
Database backups are saved as .bak files in the folder ProgramData\ECRI\Data\DBBackups. You can archive them offline, move them to another system to move your Rigel installation, or send them to another Rigel user.
For more information, see "Database Backups" in the Rigel Help file.
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Where is my data?Most of your data is stored in the Rigel SQL Server database. By default the database is stored locally on your computer, but it can be on a network database server if you have set it up that way in the Database Connection settings under Tools > Preferences > Database. The database is unique to your Windows user profile, so if Rigel is installed for multiple Windows accounts on a computer, each Windows user would have their own separate Rigel database.
You can back up the database contents to a local file (see the above topic), or restore it from a previous backup file. You can also create a new empty database and give it a new name in the Rigel database settings any time you want to start fresh.
Some Rigel data is not stored in the database, generally based on two principles:
- You should be able to open another user's Rigel database without overriding your personal preferences;
- Large image files should not be stored in the database to keep the size down.
Specifically the following types of data are not stored in the Rigel database:
- Some program settings are stored in the Windows registry, such as data format preferences.
- User names and passwords are part of the program installation files.
- Report image files are stored in the data directory under the individual case folder in ProgramData\ECRI\Data\CaseFiles
- Custom screen layouts for each case are also stored in the individual case folder in ProgramData\ECRI\Data\CaseFiles
- Custom symbol sets are stored under ProgramData\ECRI\Images\
Therefore if you restore a Rigel database on another computer and then open the case files, you may find that the layouts are different, the report images are missing, and custom symbols are replaced by generic symbols if you have not also copied those items separately.
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Lost passwordIf you lose or forget your Rigel password, the easiest way to recover is to simply re-install the program if you have your original license information. You won't lose any data by re-installing - it's equivalent to installing a software update.
If you don't have your original software license information, contact ECRI to obtain it.
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Auto-saved import queryWhen you import a new set of crimes or suspects, Rigel automatically creates a Query matching that data set. If you subsequently want to view or delete the data you imported, open a Search dialog, select Load Query, and find the Query corresponding to the data set you imported.All