Abstract

The City of Atlanta experienced its highest rate of residential burglaries in 2008, up twenty-four and one-half percent from the previous year. In the same year, thefts from motor vehicles also peaked—at nearly twenty-eight percent above the preceding year. The purpose of this study was to determine not only where clusters of offenses were occurring, but temporal frequencies of the crimes and what, if any, environmental factors were influencing increased criminal activity. To accomplish this, the research analyzed hot and cold spots of residential burglaries in three police beats comprising two distinct locations of the city, urban and suburban. It then compared thefts from motor vehicles in those same areas. The results indicated a marked difference in the socioeconomic status of the inhabitants, and the frequency of the crimes between the two areas; each having a comparable population density and beat size. The research also revealed environmental issues that were contributing elements on crime. The study concluded that each area experienced different rates of property crime for the selected categories, and that in this specific case, neighborhood design was an important consideration; and although the urban beats were subjected to higher crime rates per capita than the suburban beat, both selected areas shared a similarity in temporal occurrences of property crime incidents.

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