Citation

Drawve G, Barnum JD. J. Crime Justice 2018; 41(2): 173-192.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Midwestern Criminal Justice Association, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/0735648X.2016.1270849

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Extant literature on crime and place recognizes crime does not occur randomly across space and is influenced by physical place features within the environment, such as alcohol outlets, restaurants, and public transportation stops, that generates and attracts crime. However, many analyses of these features' influence on crime are conducted across entire jurisdictions which could potentially misrepresent the particular relationships within more localized areas. With a movement in police agencies towards proactive data-driven analyses of crime, the ability to better understand the environmental context of crime events continues to grow in prominence. Building from environmental criminology perspectives and concepts, the current study presents a framework police agencies can implement to more precisely identify the underlying place features influencing where crime occurs in different areas of their broader jurisdiction. Using risk terrain modeling, the current study examined variation in the risk factors for aggravated assault between a citywide model and three police division-specific models. Each police division was considered a unique environmental context that differentially affects crime, which necessitated site-specific analysis within the city to inform tailored police response.

FINDINGS are discussed in a policing framework with attention on practitioner implications and future directions of research.

Language: en

Keywords

aggravated assault; crime and place; Policing; risk terrain modeling