Historical Analysis : Geographic Crime

1.) Crime Mapping is the use of patterns of criminal activity were identified on pin maps. Colored stick pins that would be stuck on around different places on a map of the city, country, district, precinct, or other area. Different colors corresponded to different types of crimes. This approach, while crude, permitted police to identify problem areas and patterns of criminal activity. The problem was that the maps were one dimensional and could easily get crowded with pins, especially in the case of minor crimes that occurred with great frequency. These maps were also static they could not be easily be changed to serve a different purposes like tracking certain types of crimes over time. Crime mapping has became so common that it has created the Crime Mapping Research Center. The center promotes research, training, and technical help for police agencies around the country and help them in their mapping efforts. Mapping the crimes in and around the city can also help law enforcement protect citizens more effectively in the areas they serve. Any regular map of any city can help display the locations were crimes or concentrations of crimes that have occurred that can be used to help police patrol where they are most needed. Makers in police departments might use harder maps to observe trends in

There is the crime pattern theory that explains how individual’s routine activities affect their knowledge of criminal activities and the above leads to spatial concentrations of crimes in some places. Individual developmental maps determine their regular activities and spaces that are represented as topological features. The routine operations act as nodes or sites where people spend time most of time and criminals will move there depending on the level of security anticipated. The offenders will decide where to attack depending on how well they understand the routine activities of their clients (Carlo, and Marie-Noële, 15). On that note, it is not possible for criminals to just attack a place without evaluating the dynamics of the

Crime is a serious issue in the United States and research shows that it is running rampant, and its effects are felt in all socioeconomic levels. Each economic class has its own crime rates and types of crime.

Crime is an issue that is frequently connected to cities with urban centers. For years, officials and residents in Baltimore City worried about rising crime rates and the danger to public safety. From 1970 to present, violent crime has been a long term pattern in Baltimore and other urban areas in the United States. Beneath these patterns lies a significant volatility. During the 1970s, crime rates dropped before suddenly spiking in 1981. Amid the 1980s, crime rates fell again until an emotional reversal in 1988 which sent crime surging to obscene amounts before cresting around 1995 and falling again. This surge in savage crime in the late 1980s and mid 1990s has been connected with the introduction and rise of crime, a perspective that was reinforced by ER surveys. Prior to the crime wave of the late 80s, Baltimore's crime rates had been declined nominally and in contrast to cities of similar size in the region. The crack epidemic dramatically reversed these patterns, creating panic among city leaders not just in Baltimore but in other major

Crime displacement and diffusion is a major concern in the United States. Crime neither seem to be increasing nor decrease throughout the years. Displacement brings more consequences and can occur when a harm is produced by displacement crime before the intervention. There are three theories that help explain why crime are committed, who are targeted and how to prevent from being a potential target. Being aware of your surroundings is extremely important. Analyzing offenders, victims and location can give ideas as to why crimes occurs. Giving displacement and diffusion central attention should be the center to problem solving in criminal activities.

At the beginning of the eighteenth century, long before crime control measures aroused the attention of Americans technological communications were non-existent and transportation was limited, yet the population of America was drastically rising. The rapid growth of cities such as New York, Boston, and Philadelphia directly contributed to increased criminal activity. Not to mention the upcoming decades contained significant national changes: ethnic differences, political awareness, moral change, economic growth and decline, etc. During that era robberies, homicides, and assaults were prominent as well as visible gambling and prostitution. Unfortunately, law enforcement is working to combat these same crimes to date.

Environmental criminology examines how geographical location and features in that location affect crime. It argues that some environments are more prone to crime that others.

When considering the variables that were utilized in the study, the rates of crime, burglary, ambush, assault, thievery, robbery, etc. per predetermined population were identified by the scholars as dependent variables. It is worth mentioning that the data were retrieved from the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports (1981-2001). Due to the missing data issues, several cities were dropped by the researchers.

Geographical profiling is based on several theories including routine activity theory (Cohen & Felson, 1979) suggesting that offenders come across opportunities to offend in their daily life, rational choice theory (Clarke & Felson, 1993) which suggests offenders make a cost v risk analysis and crime pattern theory (Brantingham & Brantingham, 1981) which is a merging of the two previous theories. Along with the assumptions of distance decay (the belief that offenders are more inclined to commit crimes close to their anchor point and that the greater the distance from their anchor point they travel, the less likely they are to commit a crime) and domocentricity, the belief that offender commits crimes in locations near to their home (Bruinsma, Van Daele & Vander Beken, 2012).

Geospatial crime analysis is integrated with conjunction from geographic information systems analysis, to determine if there is a pattern or similarities and potentially predetermining future crime locations and who may commit them (Hoover, 2014).

Our Criminal Justice system dates back to the colonial days of 17th century under British rule, but our book discusses why this system emerged and more formally. During the 19th century we saw a rise in gangs, mobs and various criminal groups. Their rivalry for dominance and their criminal activity to make this happen caused a large spike in criminality in America. Something had to be done. This was not strictly to the United States, other countries had their problems as well. Shortly after the Industrialization period, there was a sharp rise in crime, worldwide. So, in 1829 London developed the first police agency called the London Metropolitan Police (Siegel, 557). Soon after, many countries, including the US, followed suit.

Chicago is a big and beautiful city in the United States, this paper will discuss the cities demographics and analyze a criminal profile. It will include the characterization of the city in terms of social and intellectual context and identify social factors that contribute to crime. A description of beliefs people living there would accept for explaining criminal behavior by linking of events or attitudes. It will consider the changes in land use, property values, transportation, and retail as one moves away from the city. If there are any changes, it will describe the distances between these

Obtain crime data from the UCR on crime in various neighborhoods in a large city near you. Plot the crime data on a city map (you do not need to do this step if you can find a crime map already done for you for your city of interest). Dose the crime-mapping appear to be totally random or do you see clusters of crime in certain geographical areas? Discuss whether the concentric zone theory fits the crime distribution in your city. If the concentric zone theory does not fit the crime distribution, what is your explanation for the clustering/pattern? As the mayor or chief of this city, what social structure steps would you suggest be taken to reduce crime in these geographical areas?

Shaw and McKay (1942) focused their research on the rapidly expanding city of Chicago Illinois in the early 1900’s. Cullen and Agnew (2011) stated that the population of Chicago expanded from 1 million people in 1890 to double that size within 20 years. According to Cullen and Agnew (2011) it was in this era of rapid expansion that researches begin to think differently about crime. Cullen and Agnew (2011) stated that the researchers began to think that the understanding of crime may not be found in the studying of an individual criminal traits but the study of the traits of the environment in which a criminal lives and interacts. According to Cullen and Agnew (2011) this led to a question in which researchers thought a possible solution of

Essentially, ecological theories state that the community has a major influence on human behavior. In a similar manner, criminology of place emphasizes the role of geographic location and architectual features concerning the extensiveness of crime and victimization. It theorizes that there