A Risk-aware Multi-objective Patrolling Route Optimization Method using Reinforcement Learning

In recent years, the burgeoning urban population, coupled with expanding urban dimensions and various sociodemographic factors, has led to an alarming escalation in criminal activities within urban centers. This escalation has further exacerbated the existing strain on police resources, rendering them increasingly inadequate for effective law enforcement. Concurrently, police patrol operations have emerged as a pivotal instrument in the ongoing battle against violent criminal activities. The judicious planning of patrol routes has the potential to markedly enhance the efficiency of police patrolling endeavors, thereby bolstering the overall security infrastructure within the jurisdiction while simultaneously conserving invaluable police resources. The formulation of an efficient patrol strategy within the intricate and ever-evolving landscape of urban regions replete with crime hotspots represents an intellectually taxing challenge. To address this exigent problem, this paper proffers a novel real-time patrol route planning algorithm tailored to dynamic environments, employing the principles of deep reinforcement learning, specifically the Integrated Double Q-Network (IDQN) method. Subsequently, the efficacy of the proposed method is empirically substantiated through experimentation, attesting to its practical viability and utility in the field of computer science and urban security management.