Concentration vs. Specialization: A Comparison of Vehicle Theft Rates and Location Quotients in Vancouver, BC

• In Event: Poster Session II

Abstract

Most research from the environmental criminology perspective makes use of either rates or counts to measure criminal activity in a spatiotemporal context. An alternative measure of crime that has not received nearly as much attention is the location quotient, which captures a region’s specialization in a given crime type. The current study makes use of both rates and location quotients for theft of vehicle in Vancouver, BC. Using OLS regression, concentration and specialization in theft of vehicle, measured by rates and location quotients, are compared on their associations with various indicators of social disorganization. It was found that indicators of social disorganization are associated more with specialization than concentration in theft of vehicle. Additionally, conflicting results suggest that social disorganization theory may not be the best theoretical framework with which to examine specialization.

Author

• Patrick Russell Johnson, Simon Fraser University