Practical use of ArcGIS for the ensurance of national security

At the present stage of development, the geographic information system (GIS) technology can be applied in many areas, including national security. Geospatial data create new opportunities for resolving vital issues, among which are detection and immediate response to threats and dangers, as well as for making effective management decisions on preventive security development. Previously, GIS has been a technology used by a small group of geospatial data analysts with limited access to up-to-date data. Nowadays, the ArcGIS software is a geospatial platform, which provides capabilities to the civil security sector of countries striving for sustainable development, public order and emergency prevention. ArcGIS maps and applications can help governments to create space for interagency cooperation in national security and other fields, where geospatial data is an administrative and decision-making instrument. The article describes the advantages of the ArcGIS software, including its extensions and add-ons, the best practices of applying GIS technology for the purposes of public order enforcement, potential offense detection and public event security. In addition, ArcGIS is used to access the existing data and integrate it into a common geographic context - a web map ensuring the interoperability of data and a better understanding of how to take security measures and make objects clearly visible. The GIS application analysis has shown that public order enforcement through the utilization of geospatial data implies the detection of dangers, threats and vulnerabilities, interagency cooperation thanks to shared situational awareness across multiple groups for daily operations, and action coordination with the use of the latest technologies and public information. At this point, the ArcGIS software makes it easier to take national security and pubic order measures from any device, at any time and place.