Donald Ludlow, James Davis and Dr. J. Matthew Shumway, Geography
Recent technological advances in police record keeping and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) software enable police departments and security specialists to better identify the spatial patterns of criminal activity. This research project utilizes both Provo Police Department database outputs and ArcView GIS software to examine the spatial nature of vehicle burglaries in Provo, Utah’s “South Campus” neighborhood. The area of the study is shown in figure 1 and includes an area of both high automobile burglary reports and a high proportion of students.
By linking police crime databases with addresses of reported crime incidents using mapping software like ArcView, the exact sites of different unlawful acts are plotted on a map. Crime “hot-spots” or clusters, where a certain crime is frequently reported, are thus identified. “Hot-spots” are compared to “hotspots” or clusters of other recurring crimes to find correlation between two or more coinciding crimes at one particular location. The environmental characteristics of each crime “hot-spot” or cluster are cataloged and examined in terms of their potential link to high crime in those locations. Linkages between recurring crime site characteristics are identified and statistically tested to reveal intricacies of criminal behavior as it relates to other crimes and the immediate environment. Such technology enables criminologists, urban designers, and law enforcement to apprehend criminals, design safer cities and adopt crime-reducing policies.
In this study, each reported incidence of vehicle burglary is mapped by the address given in Provo Police data for 1995 (see figure 2). The definition of vehicle burglary differs by jurisdiction but generally means the unlawful or forcible theft of items stored inside or parts of a parked automobile, truck or other motor vehicle. In 1995, residents of the study area reported 164 vehicle burglaries (1). The spatial distribution of reported vehicle burglaries shows three definite “hot-spots” or clusters (see figure 2). All three hot-spots are at or near large apartment or condominium complexes with underground parking garages.
Several conclusions were reached in searching for links between reported vehicle burglaries, other crimes and environmental conditions. First, while mapped “hot-spots” of reported vehicle burglaries do not coincide with clusters of reports of suspicious vehicles or persons (see figures 2 and 3), statistical testing suggests that approximately 32% of all vehicle burglaries are related to the presence of suspicious vehicles or persons. Next, there appears to be no link to higher incidence of vehicle burglary in areas with either high or low levels of artificial surveillance, i.e. motion lighting, closed-circuit television cameras, assigned parking etc. Finally, through site visits of areas with both high and low reported vehicle burglaries, there appears to be link between sites with high burglary rates and low natural surveillance, i.e. lack of human presence or observation. Perhaps the greatest weakness of this study is the inability to pinpoint the exact location of a reported crime. Police records only list addresses, not site specifics such as “the northeast corner of the parking garage.” Such specifics are important when searching for linkages between different crimes coinciding in address or when assessing the degree to which environmental (artificial and natural surveillance) factors affect crime perpetration at that site.
FIG. 2 Reported vehicle burglaries in Provo’s South Campus Neighborhood 1995
References
- Provo Police Department.1995 Crime Data Summary by NCIC Code. Trudy Rutiledge, Crime Analyst. Provo City Corporation: Provo, UT.
FIG. 3 Reported suspicious vehicles / persons in Provo’s South Campus neighborhood, 1995.