Analyzing and depicting vulnerability to crime at the micro-places

• In Event: Advances in Spatial Methods for the Study of Crime & Place

Abstract

The methods used by crime analysts to present their findings is crucial for influencing the consequent decision-making processes by practitioners. Starting from this premise, this paper proposes to visualize the risky places in an urban area by categorizing them according to the different combinations of contextual elements that make them vulnerable to crime. The study focuses on violent crimes in the delegacion Iztapalapa of Mexico City. The identification of the risky places relies on a multilevel regression model including both information on environmental elements at the micro-level and information on the socio-demographic characteristics of the neighborhoods. Then a cluster analysis is applied to classify these places according to the underlying environmental settings. The paper discusses how effectively communicating the crime vulnerability of places ensures a more effective active collaboration between researchers, law enforcement agencies, policymakers, and the local community. This paper is partially based on a study conducted by Transcrime and funded by CoE of UNODC-INEGI.

Author

• Marco Dugato, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore - Transcrime