The Topography of Robbery: Does Slope Matter?

ConclusionsSteeper street blocks may have fewer robberies because they make the physical costs for committing robberies too high, are too difficult to escape from, and/or provide fewer robbery opportunities due to relatively lower usage. Moreover, more robberies appear to occur on street blocks with higher betweenness due to more potential opportunities there. Finally, the influence of facilities and community characteristics were largely consistent with theoretical expectations and past studies. Future studies should continue to examine how topography influences aggregate crime levels and offender decision making in other settings to bolster the external validity of the present findings.

Source: Journal of Quantitative Criminology - January 27, 2020 Category: Criminology Source Type: research