Prolegomena to Any Future Theory of Crime Radiation

• In Event: Communities and Place: Crime Radiation

Abstract

This introduction to the session recalls the first and only direct empirical study of crime radiation. My paper explored the relationship between internal and external thefts in facilities in an area of London: do thefts in high-theft stores promote thefts nearby, or are nearby thefts creating high-theft stores? I found a strong positive relationship between internal and external thefts. Temporal analysis showed that internal thefts preceded external ones. I concluded that the risky facilities acted as crime ‘radiators’, causing crime in the immediate environment and internally. This has implications for crime prevention policy. However, my radiation hypothesis was embryonic and needed development. While the paper has been cited, this development has not occurred until now. The papers following this introduction take up this challenge.

Author

• Kate Bowers, University College London