Human Mobility And Crime Patterns During Covid-19 Pandemic In The United States - CANCELLED

• In Event: Routine Activities and Situational Perspectives

Abstract

People’s routine activities have been greatly influenced by the Covid-19 pandemic. Under the pandemic, physical movement of people between various routine activity types such as workplaces and transit stations has changed. Based on routine activities theory (RAT), changes in mobility can impact the likelihood of interaction among three factors: potential offenders, suitable targets, and capable guardianship. As the offending opportunity changes, so too will the tendency of crimes. As vaccination rates increase and policies evolve, crime pattern may vary at different stages. Based on open crime data and mobility data achieved from SafeGraph, this paper shows the change of crime patterns from March, 2019 to February, 2023 and the change of mobility across six cities in the United States. Results showed that the pandemic had a significant impact on both crime and human mobility patterns. There is a significant increase in motor vehicle theft in all stages while a decrease in sexual offenses in some cities. Other crimes in various cities showed distinct trends across different stages of the pandemic. On the initial stage, the mobility elasticity of crimes indicated that motor vehicle theft is elastic to reduced mobility in all types of locations in some cities.

Author

• Xinge Jia, The Chinese University of Hong Kong