The Crime Kaleidoscope: A Cross-Jurisdictional Analysis of Place Features and Crime in Three Urban Environments

• NCJ Number: 251965
• Journal: Applied Geography Volume: 79 Dated: February 2017 Pages: 203-211
• Author(s): Jeremy D. Barnum; Joel M. Caplan; Leslie W. Kennedy; Eric L. Piza
• Date Published: February 2017
• Length: 9 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2012-IJ-CX-0038
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored); Program/Project Description

Annotation

This study used risk terrain modeling (RTM), a geospatial crime forecasting and diagnostic tool, to identify place features that increase the risk of robbery and their particular spatial influence in Chicago, Illinois; Newark, New Jersey; and Kansas City, Missouri.

Abstract

Research identifies various place features (e.g., bars, schools, public transportation stops) that generate or attract crime. What is less clear is how the spatial influence of these place features compares across relatively similar environments, even for the same crime. In examining this issue, the current study found that the risk factors for robbery were similar across different environments, but not necessarily identical. Further, some factors were riskier for robbery and affected their surrounding landscape in different ways. Consistent with crime pattern theory, the results suggest that the broader organization of the environmental features affects how constituent place features relate to and influence crime. Implications of these findings for research and practice are discussed. (Publisher abstract modified)