Understanding the spatial patterns of homicide and near miss homicide

• In Event: WG-PLACE 8: Neighbourhoods and Crime

Abstract

Crime is spatially concentrated at the street segment level and in micro places. This can be explained by specific characteristics of these places at certain time points - such as the built environment, pedestrian movement, levels of social cohesion and the greater presence of individuals/premises with enhanced victimisation risk characteristics. This type of spatio-temporal analysis has been applied to explain the crime context of, for example, specific neighbourhoods within cities, transport hubs, retail centres, schools, and the night-time economy. Whilst there is an extensive crime and place literature analysing the spatial patterning and drivers of violent and sexual offences, residential burglary, criminal damage, and vehicle crime, less attention has been paid to an exploration of the spatial dynamics of homicide. This is in part due to low volumes of incidents.

This paper seeks to address this relative gap in the literature by providing an analysis of combined homicide and near miss homicide (NMH) across street segments in a UK police force between 2018 and 2023. Drawing on police-recorded crime data, the paper identifies hot spot locations based on the volume and over-representation of homicide/NMH incidents. The spatial concentration of the homicide/NMH hot spots is then compared to other types of violence and robbery offences to determine the extent to which homicide/NMH incidents are in the same or different parts of cities and towns compared to other types of violent offence. Drawing on a range of open data sources, the paper then utilises elements of routine activities theory, geometric crime patterning, crime generators and crime attractors, and social disorganisation theory to identify the significant factors driving the presence or absence of homicides/NMH within different types of street segment, and compares these with other violence and robbery.

Authors

• Andy Newton, Nottingham Trent University

• James Hunter, Nottingham Trent University