Citation

Johnson SD, Lab SP, Bowers KJ. Built Environ. (1978) 2008; 34(1): 32-45.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Alexandrine Press)

DOI

10.2148/benv.34.1.32

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

It has been known for some time that crime risk is unevenly distributed and that some geographic areas experience more crime than others. However, less attention has been given to the ebb and flow of crime hotspots and in particular the stability of crime problems. This is important as the identification of appropriate crime reduction responses should be informed by the timing and stability of crime problems as well as their location. This paper reviews recent work concerned with space-time patterns of crime and the implications of the findings for crime forecasting. Variation in the stability of crime hotspots is discussed in some detail and an empirical demonstration provided to illustrate the central issues. A modification of a current hotspotting method that may better identify stable hotspots of crime is also presented. Findings are discussed in relation to their policy implications including those that focus on the built environment.