Offender Search Theory and Distance Decay: Identifying Patterns of Criminal Activity

• In Event: Situational Aspects of Crime and Victimization

Abstract

Offender search theory suggests that some offenders travel outside of their neighborhood to commit crime. This venture occurs when their routine activities take them along unique pathways to nodes where opportunity for crime is high. While this idea has seen some support, distance decay theoretically opposes the idea of travelling to commit crime. Distance decay claims that as the distance between two locations increases, their interaction decreases. By using roughly 14,000 arrest records from Cuyahoga County (Cleveland), Ohio, we were able to examine the proportions of crimes committed within varying distances of offenders’ home addresses. We also determined if these estimates differed by crime type (violent versus property versus drugs). The results help to more carefully identify patterns of criminal activities by offenders; vis-à-vis their personal residences.

Authors

• Chris Felts, University of Cincinnati

• John Wooldredge, University of Cincinnati

• Jeffrey E. Clutter, University of Cincinnati