RT Article
T1 Cell towers and the ambient population: a spatial analysis of disaggregated property crime
JF European journal on criminal policy and research
VO 27
IS 3
SP 313
OP 333
A1 Johnson, Patrick
A2 Andresen, Martin A.
A2 Malleson, Nick
LA English
YR 2021
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1788021134
AB As a crime rate denominator, the ambient population has seen very limited use in a multivariate context. The current study employs a new measure of this population, constructed using cell tower location data from OpenCellID, to compare residential and ambient population-based crime rates. The chosen study area is Vancouver, BC, but the conclusions generalize to other administrations and the OpenCellID data have global coverage so the implications are applicable elsewhere. Five disaggregated property crime types are examined at the dissemination area level. Findings demonstrate striking differences in the spatial patterns of crime rates constructed using these two different measures of the population at risk. Multivariate results from spatial error models also highlight the substantial impact that the use of a theoretically informed crime rate denominator can have on pseudo R2 values, variable retention, and trends in significant relationships. Implications for theory testing and policy are discussed. In particular, the results suggest that policies designed around residential-based crime rates risk having no effect, or even of increasing crime.
K1 Ambient population
K1 OpenCellID
K1 Population at risk
K1 Property Crime
K1 Spatialanalysis
DO 10.1007/s10610-020-09446-3