This website was created by students in three DePauw University courses taught by Professor Kelsey Kauffman: Prisons and Public Policy (Winter 2007), Prisons, Race and Gender (Spring 2007), and Prisons and Justice (Spring 2008).

Keelin Kelly, Curtis Moore, Becky Murphy, and Megan Tucker-Hall were the first to identify problems associated with proposed extensions of Indiana's drug-free legislation. With the help of M. Beth Wilkerson of DePauw's GIS Center, they created the first maps of drug-free zones in central Indiana, Marion County and Putnam County. In addition to testifying before the Indiana Senate Committee on Corrections, Criminal and Civil Matters, they published an op-ed article in the Indianapolis Star (see Articles).

During spring semester 2007, Aimee Mennee and Abbe Trainor worked with Beth Wilkerson of the GIS Center to produce much more detailed and accurate maps of Marion County and created the original website.

Their maps for Marion County were greatly enhanced by access to polygon data for schools, parks, and family housing complexes, showing the area of objects, not just their location. The polygon data was provided by imagis (Indianapolis Mapping and Geographic Infrastructure System), a multi-participant, public-private geographic information system (GIS) consortium for Indianapolis and Marion County, Indiana (with special thanks to Mitch Osika).

Data on all individuals convicted in Indiana of dealing cocaine/narcotics and methamphetamines (Indiana law 35-48-4-1) was provided by the Indiana Department of Correction (with special thanks to Amanda Copeland).

In order to determine why each individual defendent accused of drug dealing in Marion County was charged with a Class A felony instead of a Class B felony and other details of his/her arrest and conviction, we had to go to the Marion County Records Office. Dominique Davis, Kareem Edwards, Clint Hasenour, Abbe Trainor, and Blair McCarthy did the first 70 cases.

Thanks to a DePauw Summer Research grant, Becky Murphy was able to spend summer 2007 working with Professor Kauffman, collecting and analyzing data from all drug cases in Marion County.

During spring semester 2008, Ryan Keeley extended the research to include sex offender exclusion zones.

Professor Kauffman and Beth Wilkerson created the final maps and expanded the website during DePauw's Ninth and Tenth Annual FITS (Faculty Instructional Technology Support) Summer Workshop, with considerable assistance from all the FITS staff.

Special thanks to

Mitch Osika of imagis

The staff at the Marion County Records Office

Amanda Copeland, director of research at the Indiana Department of Correction

Neil Abraham, Vice-President for Academic Affairs, DePauw University

Sherry Mou, and all of the wonderful DePauw FITS (Faculty Instructional Technology Support) staff

And most of all, a huge thank you to Beth Wilkerson of DePauw's GIS Center for the many hours she devoted to the project and her endless patience teaching us how to use ArcGIS and helping us create the maps.