Asian Journal of Innovation and Policy

Asian Society for Innovation and Policy (아시아기술혁신학회)
권호 표지
DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Innovative Spatial Analysis of Violent Crime Hot Spots in Korea: Implications for Urban Policy

  • Kyungjae, Lee (Program in Regional Information Studies, Seoul National University)
  • Received : 2022.11.07
  • Accepted : 2023.01.19
  • Published : 2022.12.31
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

Empirical applications to explain criminogenic events are abundant. While much of the research in criminal studies concentrates on understanding the motivations of offenders and preventing victimization from a micro perspective, there have been recent theoretical advancements that give priority to the role of spatial factors in directly impacting crime rates. The primary purpose of this study is to investigate the empirical inference between violent crime incidence and spatial characteristics of local areas focusing particularly on spatial accessibility conditions in the areas. Applying discrete spatial econometrics models, this study reveals a significant relationship between spatial accessibility and the formation of violent crime hot spots in South Korea. Along with other variables, it is revealed that road accessibility has a clear association with violent crime hot spots. Based on the findings, this study suggests some policy implications such as effective surveillance systems, land use restrictions, and advanced street lighting.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This paper is a modified version of the author's Master's thesis, titled 'The Effects of Spatial Characteristics on Violent Crime Incidence and Violent Crime Hot Spots in Korea: Applications of Linear and Discrete Spatial Econometrics Models.' I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the reviewers and editors of this journal for their valuable feedback and guidance in shaping this paper. Their expertise and insights have greatly contributed to the improvement of this work. I am deeply grateful for their time and effort in providing constructive criticism and suggestions for further research.

References

  1. Alex, H. and Kate, B. (2001). Mapping and Analysing Crime Data. London: Taylor and Francis.
  2. Anderson, J.M., MacDonald, J.M., Bluthenthal, R., and Ashwood, J.S. (2013). Reducing Crime by Shaping the Built Environment with Zoning: An Empirical Study of Los Angeles. University of Pennsylvania Law Review, 161(3), 699-756.
  3. Andresen, M.A. (2006). Crime Measures and the Spatial Analysis of Criminal Activity. The British Journal of Criminology, 46, 258-285. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azi054
  4. Anselin, L. (1988). Spatial Econometrics: Method and Models. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic.
  5. Anselin, L. (1995). Local Indicators of Spatial Association LISA. Geographical Analysis, 27(2), 286-306.
  6. Anselin, L. (2002). Under the Hood: Issues in the Specification and Interpretation of Spatial Regression Models. Agricultural Economics, 27(3), 247-267. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-5150(02)00077-4
  7. Anselin, L., Cohen, J., Cook, D., Gorr, W. and Tita, G. (2000). Spatial Analysis of Crime, Measurement and Analysis of Crime and Justice. U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.
  8. Baller, R., Anselin, L., Messner, S., Deane, G. and Hawkins, D. (2001). Structural Covariates of US County Homicide Rates: Incorporating Spatial Effects. Criminology, 39(3), 561-590. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2001.tb00933.x
  9. Barnet, C. and Mencken, F.C. (2002). Social Disorganization Theory and the Contextual Nature of Crime in Nonmetropolitan Counties. Rural Sociology, 67(3), 372-393. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1549-0831.2002.tb00109.x
  10. Baumont, C., Ertur, C. and Le Gallo, J. (2004). Spatial Analysis of Employment and Population Density: The Case of the Agglomeration of Dijon 1999. Geographical Analysis, 36(2), 146-177.
  11. Becker, G.S. (1968). Crime and Punishment: An Economic Approach. The Journal of Political Economy, 76(2), 169-217. https://doi.org/10.1086/259394
  12. Blau, J.R. and Blau, P.M. (1982). The Cost of Inequality: Metropolitan Structure and Violent Crime. American Sociological Review, 47 (1), 114-129. https://doi.org/10.2307/2095046
  13. Boots, B. and Nelson, T.A. (2008). Detecting Spatial Hot Spot in Landscape Ecology. Ecography, 31(5), 556-566. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0906-7590.2008.05548.x
  14. Braga, A.A., Papachristos, A.V., and Hureau, D.M. (2010). The Concentration and Stability of Gun Violence at Micro Places in Boston, 1980-2000. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 26(1), 33-53. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10940-009-9082-x
  15. Browning, C.R., Byron. R.A., Calder, C A., Krivo, L.J., Kwan, M.P., Lee, J.Y., and Peterson, R.D. (2010). Commercial, Density, Residential, Concentration, and Crime: Land Use Patterns and Violence in Neighborhood Context. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 47(3), 329-357. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022427810365906
  16. Bruinsma, G.J.N., Pauwels, L.J.R., Weerman, F.M., and Bernasco, W. (2013). Social disorganization, social capital, collective efficacy and the spatial distribution of crime and offenders. The British Journal of Criminology, 53, 942-63. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azt030
  17. Byeon, J., Kim., I., Min., S., and Lee., D. (2020). Social Capital and Crime: Evidence from Felony Crimes in Seoul Municipalities. Journal of Korean Economics Studies, 38(1), 5-37. https://doi.org/10.46665/jkes.2020.03.38.1.5
  18. Cahill, M. and Mulligan, G. (2007). Using Geographically Weighted Regression to Explore Local Crime Patterns. Social Science Computer Review, 25(2), 174-193. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439307298925
  19. Can, A. (1992). Specification and Estimation of Hedonic Housing Price Model. Regional Science and Urban Economics, 22 (3), 453-473. https://doi.org/10.1016/0166-0462(92)90039-4
  20. Ceccato, V., Haining, R. and Signoretta, P. (2002). Exploring Offence Statistics in Stockholm City Using Spatial Analysis Tools. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 92(1), 29-51. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8306.00278
  21. Chalfin A. 2015. Economic costs of crime. In The Encyclopedia of Crime & Punishment, ed. WG Jennings, 1-12. New York: Wiley.
  22. Chalfin, A., Hansen, B., Lerner, J., and Parker, L. (2022). Reducing Crime Through Environmental Design: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment of Street Lighting in New York City. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 38, 127-157. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10940-020-09490-6
  23. Chang, D.K. (2009). Social Crime or Spatial Crime? Exploring the Effects of Social Economical, and Spatial Factors on Burglary Rates. Environment and Behavior, 43(1), 26-52. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916509347728
  24. Cheong, J. (2014). Spatial Regression Analysis on the Relationship between Structural Characteristics and Homicide of Seoul. Seoul Studies, 15(1), 101-118. https://doi.org/10.23129/SEOULS.15.1.201403.101
  25. Choi, J. and Park, C. (2018). A Study on Environmental Factors Affecting Occurrence Depends on Types of Crime. Journal of Korean Criminological Association 12 (2), 159-186, https://doi.org/10.29095/JKCA.12.2.8
  26. Chun, Y.W. and Park, Y.H. (2008). Neighborhood Effects and Spatial Patterns in Urban Crime: A Case Study of the City of Dallas, Texas. Journal of the Korean Urban Geographical Society, 11(1), 85-99.
  27. Cohen, L. and Felson, M. (1979). Social Change and Crime Rates. American Sociological Review, 44(4), 588-608.
  28. Corman, H. and Mocan, H.N. (2005). Carrots, Sticks and Broken Windows. Journal of Law and Economics, 48(1), 235-266. https://doi.org/10.1086/425594
  29. Cozens, P. and Love, T. (2009). Manipulating Permeability as a Process for Controlling Crime: Balancing Security and Sustainability in Local Contexts. Built Environment, 35(1), 346-365. https://doi.org/10.2148/benv.35.3.346
  30. Dubin, R.A. (1988). Estimation of Regression Coefficients in the Presence of Spatially Autocorrelated Error Terms. The Review of Economics and Statistics 70 (3), 466-474. https://doi.org/10.2307/1926785
  31. Eck, J. and Weisburd, D.L. (2015). Crime Places in Crime Theory. Crime and Place: Crime Prevention Studies, 4, 1-33.
  32. Ellen, I.G., Lens, M.C., and O'Regan, K.M. (2012). American Murder mystery revisited: do housing voucher households cause crime? Housing Policy Debate, 22(4), 551-572. https://doi.org/10.1080/10511482.2012.697913
  33. Foster S., Giles-Corti B., and Knuiman M. (2010) Neighbourhood design and fear of crime: a social-ecological examination of the correlates of residents' fear in new suburban housing developments. Health Place, 16(6), 1156-1165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2010.07.007
  34. Groff, E. and McCord, E.S. (2012). The role of neighborhood parks as crime generators. Security Journal, 25, 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1057/sj.2011.1
  35. Ha, S. (2017). Review on the Status and Countermeasures of Foreigner's Crime. Korean terrorism studies Review 10(2), 150-163.
  36. Han, L., Bandyopadhyay, S., and Bhattacharya S. (2013). Determinants of violent and property crimes in England and Wales: a panel data analysis. Applied Economics, 45(34), 4820-4830. https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2013.806782
  37. Hiller, B. and Shu, S. (2000). Crime and Urban Layout: The Need for Evidence, In: Ballintyne S, Pease K, McLaren V (eds) Key Issues in Crime Prevention, Crime Reduction and Community Safety. London: IPPR.
  38. Hipp, J. R. (2007). Block, Track, and Levels of Aggregation: Neighborhood Structure and Crime and Disorder as a Case in Point. American Sociological Association, 72(5), 659-680. https://doi.org/10.1177/000312240707200501
  39. Hollis-Peel, M., Reynald, D.M., van Bavel, M., Elffers, H., Welsh, B. (2011). Guardianship for Crime Prevention: A Critical Review of the Literature, Crime, Law and Social Change, 56, 53-70. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-011-9309-2
  40. Hooghe, M., Vanhoutte, B., Hardyns, W. and Bircan, T. (2011). Unemployment, Inequality, Poverty and Crime: Spatial Distribution Patterns of Criminal Acts in Belgium, 2001-06. The British Journal of Criminology, 51(1), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azq067
  41. Hwang, J and Lee, S. (2012). The Impact of Divorce on Tenure Choice for Women in Korea. Journal of the Korean Housing Association, 23(1), 55-66. https://doi.org/10.6107/JKHA.2012.23.1.055
  42. Johnston, S. and Bowers, K. (2010) Permeability and Burglary Risk: Are Cul-de-sacs Safer? Quantitative Journal of Criminology, 26(1), 89-111. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10940-009-9084-8
  43. Kim, H. and Lee., S. (2011). The Crime Hot Spot and Determinants of Rural Crime. The Journal of Rural Society, 21(2), 141-172.
  44. Kim, H. and Lee., S. (2013). Changes in Spatial Dependence of Crime and Distribution of Crime Hot Spots in Korea, 2001-2010. RESIDENTIAL ENVIRONMENT: JOURNAL OF THE RESIDENTIAL ENVIRONMENT INSTITUTE OF KOREA, 11(2), 27-41.
  45. Kim, I., Byeon., J., and Ahn., H. (2014). Violent Crime in Korea: With Focuses on Deterrence, Income Inequality, and Female Victimization. Korean Journal of Law and Economics, 11(3), 389-417.
  46. Kim, S.M., Lagrange, R.L. and Willis, C.L. (2012). Place and Crime: Integrating Sociology of Place and Environmental Criminology. Urban Affairs Review, 49(1), 141-155. https://doi.org/10.1177/1078087412465401
  47. Ko, K. (2016). Determinants of sexual assault in Korea: an empirical analysis (Masters dissertation). Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul,
  48. Kwon, T. and Jeon, S. (2016). A study on the violent crime and control factors in Korea. Journal of the Korean Data and Information Science Society, 27(6), 1511-1523. https://doi.org/10.7465/jkdi.2016.27.6.1511
  49. Lauridsen, J.T., Zeren., F., and Ari., A. (2013). A spatial panel data analysis of crime rates in EU. Discussion Papers on Business and Economics, 2.
  50. Lee, G. (2020). A Study on the Characteristic of Foreign Crimes. Korea Criminal Intelligence Review 6(1), 121-135.
  51. Lee, H. and Choi., J. (2019). An Empirical Study on the Determinants of Property Crime and Violent Crime: Focusing on Social Disorganization Theory and Life Course Theory. Journal of the Korean Urban Management Association, 32(2), 67-86. https://doi.org/10.36700/kruma.2019.06.32.2.67
  52. Lee, K., Choi, E., and Lee, S. (2021). The effects of spatial factors on the incidence of violent crime in Korea, 2005-2015. Asian Journal of Innovation and Policy, 10(2), 249-273. https://doi.org/10.7545/AJIP.2021.10.2.249
  53. Lee, S. (2011). Evaluation of Crime Prevention Performance of Urban Spatial Structure through Network Analysis. JOURNAL OF THE ACCHITECTURAL INSTITUTE OF KOREA Planning & Design, 27(8), 243-250.
  54. Lee, S. and Cho, J. (2006). The Effects of Spatial and Environmental Factors on Crime Victimization. Seoul Studies, 7(2), 57-76. https://doi.org/10.23129/SEOULS.7.2.200606.57
  55. Leiva, M., Vasquez-Lavin, F., and Oliva, R.D.P. (2020). Do immigrants increase crime? Spatial analysis in a middle-income country. World Development, 126.
  56. Lens, M.C. (2014). The Impact of Housing Vouchers on Crime in US cities and Suburbs. Urban Studies, 51(6), 1274-1289. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098013497407
  57. Lesage, J.P. (1999). The Theory and Practice of Spatial Econometrics. Available: http://www.spatial-econometrics.com/html/sbook.
  58. LeSage, J.P. and Pace, R.K. (2009). Introduction to Spatial Econometrics. Boca Raton: CRC Press/Taylor & Francis.
  59. Lockwood, D. (2007). Mapping Crime in Savannah: Social Disadvantage, Land Use, and Violent Crimes Reported to the Police. Social Science Computer Review, 25(2), 194-209. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439307298935
  60. Louderback, E.R., and Roy, S.S. (2018). Integrating Social Disorganization and Routine Activity Theories and Testing the Effectiveness of Neighbourhood Crime Watch Programs: Case Study of Miami-Dade County, 2007-15. The British Journal of Criminology, 58, 968-992. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azx062
  61. Marselle, M., Wootton, A.B., and Hamilton, M.G. (2012). A design against crime intervention to reduce violence in the night-time economy. Security Journal, 25, 116-133. https://doi.org/10.1057/sj.2011.14
  62. Messner, S.F. (1982). Poverty, Inequality, and Urban Homicide Rate: Some Unexpected Findings. Criminology, 20(1), 103-114. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.1982.tb00450.x
  63. Miller, J. (2013). Individual Offending, Routine Activities, and Activity Settings: Revisiting the Routine Activity Theory of General Deviance. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 50, 390-416. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022427811432641
  64. Mocan, H.N. and Rees, D.I. (2005). Economic Conditions, Deterrence and Juvenile Crime: Evidence from Micro Data. American Law and Economics Review, 7(2), 319-349. https://doi.org/10.1093/aler/ahi011
  65. Moons, E., Brijs, T. and Wets, G. (2009). Improving Moran's Index to Identify Hot Spots in Traffic Safety. Geocomputation Urban Plan, 176, 117-132. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-89930-3_7
  66. Morenoff, J.D., Sampson, R.J. and Raudenbush, S.W. (2001). Neighborhood Inequality, Collective Efficacy, and the Spatial Dynamics of Urban Violence. Criminology, 39(3), 517-559. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2001.tb00932.x
  67. Newman, O. (1973). Defensible space: Crime prevention thorough urban design. New York: McMillan.
  68. O'Brien, R.M. (1983). Metropolitan structure and violent crime: Which measure of crime?. American Sociological Review, 48(3), 434-437. https://doi.org/10.2307/2095236
  69. Papachristos, A.V. and Bastomski, S. 2018. Connected in Crime: The Enduring Effect of Neighborhood Networks on the Spatial Patterning of Violence. American Journal of Sociology, 124(2), 517-568. https://doi.org/10.1086/699217
  70. Park, J., Lee, K., and Lee, S. (2018). A Study on Fear of crime of people in Seoul. Seoul Studies, 19(4), 111-129.
  71. Paulsen, D.J. (2012). Crime and Planning: Building Socially Sustainable Communities. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
  72. Paulsen, D.J. and Robinson, M.B. (2004). Spatial Aspects of Crime: Theory and Practice. Boston: Rearson Education, Inc.
  73. Petee, T.A. and Kowalski, G.S. (1993). Modeling Rural Violent Crime Rates: A Test of Social Disorganization Theory. Sociological Focus, 26(1), 87-89. https://doi.org/10.1080/00380237.1993.10570998
  74. Petee, T.A., Kowalski, G.S. and Duffield, D.W. (1994). Crime, Social Disorganization, and Social Structure: A Research Note on the Use of Interurban Ecological Models. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 19(1), 117-132. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02887442
  75. Roncek, D.W. and Bell, R. (1981). Bars, Blocks, and Crimes. Journal of Environmental Systems, 11, 35-47.
  76. Roncek, D.W. and Maier, P.A. (1991). Bars, Blocks and Crimes Revisited: Linking the Theory of Routine Activities to the Empiricism of "Hot Spots", Criminology, 29, 725-53. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.1991.tb01086.x
  77. Sampson, R.J. (1985). Neighborhood and Crime: Identifying the Effect of Unemployment on Crime. Journal Research in Crime and Delinquency, 22(1), 7-40. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022427885022001002
  78. Sampson, R.J. and Groves, W.B. (1989). Community Structure and Crime: Testing SocialDisorganization Theory. The America Journal of Sociology, 94(4), 774-802. https://doi.org/10.1086/229068
  79. Sampson, R.J. and John, D.W. (1987). Linking the Micro-Level and Macro-Level Dimensions of Lifestyle-Routine Activity and Opportunity Models of Predatory Victimization. American Journal of Sociology, 3(4), 371-393.
  80. Schneider, R.H. and Kitchen, T. (2002). Planning for Crime Prevention: A TransAtlantic Perspective. New York: Routledge.
  81. Seo, M., Seo, Y., and Kang, S. (2019). A Study on the Spatial Characteristics of Land Use Areas and the Characteristics of Crime Occurrence. Journal of Community Safety and Security by Environmental Design, 10(3), 9-38.
  82. Seok, C.H. (2012). The Renovation Plan for Crime Prevention of Local Police in Korea. Korea Association of Criminal psychology, 8(2), 99-123.
  83. Shaw, C.R. and Mckay, H.D. (1942). Juvenile Delinquency and Urban Areas. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
  84. Shin, S. (2019) Spatial Features Affecting the Occurrence of Hidden Camera Crime, the Journal of Police Science, 19(1), 59-83. https://doi.org/10.22816/POLSCI.2019.19.1.003
  85. Smith, W.R., Frazee, S.G. and Davison, E.L. (2000). Furthering the Integration of Routine Activity and Social Disorganization Theories: Small Units of Analysis and the Study of Street Robbery as a Diffusion Process. Criminology, 38(2), 489-523. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2000.tb00897.x
  86. Spicer, V., Reid, A.A., Ginther, J., and Seifi, H. (2012). Bars on blocks: A cellular automata model of crime and liquor licensed establishment density. Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, 36(5), 412-422. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compenvurbsys.2012.02.004
  87. Sung, W., Chun, S., Yun, M., and Lee, H. (2015). The Effect of Alcohol On-premises Densities on Corresponding Local Criminal Rates in Seoul. Korean Public Health Research, 41(4), 75-86.
  88. Taylor, R.B. (1997). Social Order and Disorder of Street Blocks and Neighborhoods: Ecology, Microecology, and the Systemic Model of Social Disorganization. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 34(1), 113-155. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022427897034001006
  89. Valier, C. (2003). Foreigners, Crime, and Changing Mobility. The British Journal of Criminology, 42, 109-128.
  90. Warner, B.D. and Pierce, G.L. (1993). Reexamining Social Disorganization Theory using Calls to the Police as a Measure of Crime. Criminology, 31(4), 493-517. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.1993.tb01139.x
  91. Weisburd, D. (2015). The Law of Crime Concentration and the Criminology of Place. Criminology, 53(2), 133-157. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9125.12070
  92. Williams, F.P. (1984). The demise of the criminological imagination: A critique of recent criminology. Justice Quarterly, 1(1), 91-106. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418828400088051
  93. Witt, R., Clarke, A. and Fielding, N. (1999). Crime and Economic Activity: A Panel Data Approach. The British Journal of Criminology, 39(3), 391-400. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/39.3.391
  94. Wo, J.C. (2019). Understanding the Differential Effects of Land Uses On Crime: An Examination Across Philadelphia Neighbourhoods. The British Journal of Criminology, 59(6), 1432-1454. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azz019
  95. Yoon, O. and Joo, H. (2005). A Contextual Analysis of Crime Rates: The Korean Case. Crime, Law & Social Change, 43(1), 31-55. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-005-2814-4