Unpacking relationships between major sports events and violent crime

• In Event: WG-PLACE 7: Neighbourhoods and Crime

Abstract

Existing research shows there can be relationships between holding major sports events in cities and the frequency of violent crime. However, previous studies have typically studied a single type of sporting event in a single city, leaving open the questions of how relationships vary between sporting types and across cities, as well as the question of how events influence crime differently in the areas around event locations, in the wider city and in city centres. This paper uses detailed data on the times and locations of violent crime across 12 large cities in the United States that host multiple different sports events to understand (a) how the differences in violence between event days and comparable non-event days varies between cities, (b) how the relationship between violence and major events differs between sports types, and (c) how the relationships vary between the event area and the city centre. The results of this study are likely to be useful to city governments in deciding whether to support the hosting of major sports events, and contribute to the debate about the extent to which event organisers should contribute to the cost of policing not only inside and immediately around events, but also in the wider city.

Authors

• Alina Ristea, Assistant Professor Department of Security and Crime Science, University College London

• Matt Ashby, UCL