Table Of ContentSpringer Series on Evidence-Based Crime Policy
SeriesEditors:
LawrenceW.Sherman,UniversityofPennsylvania
HeatherStrang,AustralianNationalUniversity
Crime prevention and criminal justice policies are domains of great and growing
importancearoundtheworld.Despitetherigorousresearchdoneinthisfield,policy
decisions are often based more on ideology or speculation than on science. One
reason for this may be a lack of comprehensive presentations of the key research
affecting policy deliberations. While scientific studies of crime prevention and
criminal policy have become more numerous in recent years, they remain widely
scattered across a wide range of journals and countries. The Springer Series on
Evidence-Based Crime Policy aims to pull this evidence together while presenting
newresearchresults.Thiscombination ineachbookshouldprovide,betweentwo
covers(orinelectronicsearches),thebestevidenceoneachtopicofcrimepolicy.
The series will publish primary research on crime policies and criminal justice
practices, raising critical questions or providing guidance to policy change. The
series will try to make it easier for research findings to become key components
in decisions about crime and justice policy. The editors welcome proposals for
bothmonographsandeditedvolumes.Therewillbeaspecialemphasisonstudies
using rigorous methods (especially field experiments) to assess crime prevention
interventions in areas such as policing, corrections, juvenile justice and crime
prevention.
PublishedinCooperationwiththeCampbellCrimeandJusticeGroup
Forfurthervolumes:
http://www.springer.com/series/8396
·
Bruce J. Doran Melissa B. Burgess
Putting Fear of Crime
on the Map
Investigating Perceptions of Crime Using
Geographic Information Systems
123
BruceJ.Doran MelissaB.Burgess
FennerSchoolofEnvironment&Society FennerSchoolofEnvironment&Society
TheAustralianNationalUniversity TheAustralianNationalUniversity
Canberra,ACT2601,Australia Canberra,ACT2601,Australia
[email protected]
ISBN978-1-4419-5646-0 e-ISBN978-1-4419-5647-7
DOI10.1007/978-1-4419-5647-7
SpringerNewYorkDordrechtHeidelbergLondon
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2011934029
©SpringerScience+BusinessMedia,LLC2012
Allrightsreserved.Thisworkmaynotbetranslatedorcopiedinwholeorinpartwithoutthewritten
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notidentifiedassuch,isnottobetakenasanexpressionofopinionastowhetherornottheyaresubject
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Printedonacid-freepaper
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Dedication
We would like to dedicate this book to the many survey participants who gave
willingly their time and experience – without their contribution, the research
in Wollongong and Kings Cross would not have been possible. The two-stage
interview process used in the Wollongong study provided a means for informal
discussions in addition to the survey itself. Very often people chose to share their
thoughts on policing or crime in the area and to describe personal experiences, or
thoseofworkcolleagues,friendsorfamily.Thefollowingaccountsarethestories
of some of the participants and in many ways these personal reflections provide
powerfulinsightsintotheimpactoffearofcrimeatanindividuallevel.
ARealEstateAgentLeaves
At the time of the survey, Amelia1 worked in the Piccadilly area of Wollongong.
Shewasacommunity-mindedpersonwhotookgreatprideinthefactthatshehad
raised a number of adopted children and was a key person in the local business
community. She worked for a real estate agency and was based in the Piccadilly
shopping mall, the key feature of the precinct and a focus of crime, disorder and
fearintheCBDarea.Themall,despitebeingnexttothemainrailwaystationthat
commutersusedtoaccesstheCBD,waspoorlyutilized.Theareahadlongproven
to be a serious challenge for the police, the Wollongong City Council (WCC) and
businessresidentsofthelocalcommunity.
Amelia firmly believed that her job provided her with the potential to make
positive changes in the area. As a senior real estate agent who primarily dealt in
commercialproperty,shewasabletoencouragebuyerswhoshefeltwerelikelyto
have a beneficial presence in the area. An example of this was the ongoing nego-
tiations she was handling with a university who were considering the purchase of
a motel above the mall. It was well known that the motel functioned as an infor-
mal brothel and centre for drug dealing. Amelia felt that a university-run research
1Thenamesofrespondentshavebeenchangedtoprotectprivacy,butthecontentoftheirstories
havenotbeenaltered.
v
vi Dedication
facility would dramatically change the dynamics. One afternoon while locking up
theshopfrontfortheagency,Ameliawasapproachedfrombehindanddousedwith
petrol.Shewasthenconfrontedbyadrugaddictsheknewwell–someoneshewas
notnormallybotheredbybutwho,onthisoccasion,washighanddidnotseemto
recognizeher.Ameliafranticallypleadedwiththeaddictashewavedalighterand
threatened to ignite her. After several terrifying moments, her attacker seemed to
lose interest and walked away. Amelia was someone conditioned to minor disor-
der. She knew by name many of the addicts, including her attacker, who used the
methadoneclinics.Shewasalsounderstandingoftheweekendalcohol-relatedprob-
lems,aswellastheyouthsinvolvedintagginggraffiti.However,theverydirectand
personalattacksheexperiencedoutsidehershopfrontthatafternoonwastoomuch
forher.Theattacktookplacebetweenthefirstandsecondstagesoftheinterview.
Severalweekslater,shehadmovedtoanotherareaandacommunity-mindedper-
son,whogenuinelybelievedPiccadillycouldchangeforthebetter,hadleftthearea
forgood.
ACobblerWhoWouldn’tEatOutside
Tonywasahugemanstandingwellover6.5feettall.Heranasmallshoerepairshop
thatopeneddirectlyoutontotheCrownStreetMall.Theareawasnotinthecoreof
crimehotspotfortheCBDbutwasafocusofsocialdisorderontheweekends.Tony
toldmethathehadrecentlyretiredattheageof35fromaspecialistmilitaryunitin
theAustraliaDefenceForceandhadlocatedinWollongongforfamilyreasons.He
haddescribedhowhehadbeenavictimofseveralseriouscrimesinthe12months
precedingthesurvey.Onecrimewasparticularlyfearinspiring–agroupofyouths
had attacked him with an iron bar while he was getting from his shop to his car
at the back of the building after work. However, when asked about the incident,
Tonyexplainedthatthisdidnotbotherhimbecauseofhisself-defencetrainingand
thathewaseasilyabletodisarmtheattackers.Itwasallthemorestrikingthen,to
hear him talk about how he would never eat his lunch or take breaks in the mall
area directly outside his shop. His fear in this case related to the fact that, in his
judgement, there was a chance of being attacked with a syringe and this was not
a risk he was prepared to take. He explained that his first priority was his family
andthatifhewasavictimofasyringeattack,hemaynolongerbeabletoactasa
provider.ItishardtoimagineamorecapableguardianthanTony,yethisavoidance
behaviour meant that he was effectively removed from the mall area only metres
awayfromhisshopfront.
ANightontheTownGoesWrong
JohnranasmallshopbelowtheCrownStreetMallthatsoldspecialistfigurinesfor
dungeonsanddragons-typeboardgames.Hewasasoftspokensmallmanwhowas
20yearsold.Hemaintainedacalmdemeanourduringtheinterviewbutpassionately
Dedication vii
related a story at the conclusion of the exercise. He undid the top three buttons of
his shirt and revealed some massive scarring around the base of his neck. I could
see that he had grown a beard to hide some of them. John went on to explain that
two years back, he had been walking through Crown Street Mall late at night one
weekend.Themalloftenservesasaconduitbetweentwonightclubstripsateither
endofthevehicle-freearea.Hehadleftfriendsandwasgoingto‘kickon’atsome
oftheclubsaloneonKeiraStreet.Hefoundhimselfsuddenlysurroundedbythree
menwithskateboards–withoutwarningorprovocation;theypickeduptheboards
and attacked him.Hewas seriouslyinjured butable towalk after theincident and
attempted to get help from passers-by. When this proved to be unsuccessful, he
attemptedtocatchataxifromCrownStreettothehospital,onlyakilometreaway
butupasteepincline.Whennotaxiswouldstophewasforcedtowalktothehos-
pital.Afterbuttoninguphisshirt,hestatedstronglythathewasdeterminednotto
lettheexperience‘beathim’.Manymonthslater,Iwasconductingasocialdisorder
assessment in the mall at 4 am and was aghast to see John walking determinedly,
andalone,throughthepavedwalkwayarea.Hereappearedaclassicmanifestation
oftherisk-victimizationparadox–ayoungmanwhowasrelativelymorelikelyto
becomeavictimofcrimedisplayinganapparentlyirrationallackoffear.Ihadthe
strongimpressionthoughthatJohnwascarryingsomethingtoprotecthimself.
AHusbandThreatenstoTaketheLawintoHisOwnHands
Probably one of the more horrific accounts related to me while conducting inter-
views was the experience of Michelle, a petite mid-30s dress-shop owner, who
workedatthebottomendofCrownStreetMall.Icouldseethatshewasnervousas
thesurveymovedthroughasectiononvictimizationoverthepast12months.Atthe
endoftheinterview,herhusbandcamefromthebackoftheshoptojointheconver-
sation.Theywerebothverykeentoknowwhatthesurveydatawouldbeusedfor–
woulditbeusedtopoliceantisocialbehaviourinthemall?Whowouldhaveaccess
to the results? Was the study simply an academic exercise? It emerged that their
concern stemmed from a serious attack that had taken place a number of months
prior to the interview. Michelle had been accosted in her shop by a much larger
womanwhodemandedcashfromtheregister.WhenMichellerefused,thewoman
becameviolentandthrewheragainstadisplay.Herattackerthenwentintoafrenzy,
kickingandpunchingherrepeatedly,aswellasbodilypickingherupandthrowing
heraroundtheshop,asthesmallerwomandesperatelytriedtofendofftheblows.
Theassaultcontinuedforsomeminutesbeforetheoffenderlefttheshop.Michelle
wasbadlyshakenandhadsustainedseriousfacialinjuriesthatrequiredsurgery.She
pressedcharges,astheoffenderwasgenerallyknownintheCBD.However,aweek
later,Michelle’sattackerwasbackinhershoptothreatenheragain.Michelleand
herhusbandspokeoftheirfrustrationwiththeauthorities–intheiropinion,thesys-
temhadcompletelyfailedthemandhadleftthembothfeelingvulnerable.Michelle
nolongerfeltsecureintheshopbyherself,soherhusband,whowasself-employed,
hadmovedtotherearoftheshopandestablishedanoffice.Heemphasizedstrongly
viii Dedication
thathewouldnottolerateanyfutureintimidationandthatifitweretohappenagain,
hewouldtakethelawintohisownhands.
Theresponsestothesurveyvariedconsiderably.Somerespondentstoldofhow
they carried their car keys when leaving work so that sharp ends protruded from
between their fingers – if they needed to defend themselves they were ready.
Otherpeoplespokeontheirmobilephoneswhenwalkinginpublictoavoidbeing
addressed by strangers. Many people drew very detailed cognitive maps which
outlined the areas they avoided because they were afraid of being robbed, beaten
or attacked. In some cases, people were prisoners not in their homes but in their
workplace,asisthecaseintheexamplebelow.
Some of the cognitive maps drawn by a survey respondent in Wollongong outlining areas they
avoidedaroundtheirworkplace(thehollowarrowindicatesthelocationoftheirworkplace)
The point of these stories is not to overemphasize the shocking nature of some
oftheexperiencesbutrathertoacknowledgetheindividualstoriesandbehavioural
responsesthataresomewhatmaskedby,andlaybehind,thecollectivespatialanaly-
sespresentedintheKingsCrossandWollongongstudies.Theseaccountsalsoserve
toreinforcethefundamentalassumptionbehindthisbook,namelythatfearofcrime
isasignificantproblemforsocietybecauseitpromptspeopletoadoptprotectiveand
Dedication ix
avoidancebehaviours.Thesebehaviourshavemanyconsequencesatthelevelofthe
individual and community. They are complex and can be hard to understand but
theyalsoprovidealensthroughwhichtoexamineinteractionsbetweenmembersof
acommunity,publicspaceandrelationshipswithcrimeanddisorder.Weusetech-
niques from behavioural geography in conjunction with Geographic Information
Systems,todevelopanapproachwhichwehopewillcontributetotheliteratureon
fearofcrimeaswellasthemanagementoftheproblem.Theapproachisrelatively
simple,butstronglygroundedinwell-establishedprinciplesofcognitivemapping.
It is transferable to other contexts and situations – in the final chapter we outline
manypossiblefutureapplicationsandavenuesforresearch.Wewouldagainliketo
thankthepeoplewhoparticipatedintheWollongongandKingsCrossstudiesasit
istheircontributionthatallowsusto‘putfearonthemap’.
Series Foreword
Allovertheworld,politiciansandpolicymakersareincreasinglyinclinedtoclaim
that their proposals are ‘evidence-based’. Social scientists have even caught this
spirit of evidence, which may show in their occasional use of the malapropism of
‘evidence-basedresearch’(thusimplyingtheexistenceofsomeotherlegitimatecat-
egoryofresearchthatisnotbasedonevidence,perhapsincludingwhatPeterReuter
andothersdescribeas‘mythicalnumbers’i).Evenwhenpoliciescanclearlycitea
relevantbodyofresearch,however,scientistscannotagreeonwhatmakesapolicy
‘evidence-based’.ii
Thepresentbookseriesmustthereforegrapplewithaseriesofchallengestoits
veryname,letalonetheordinaryhurdlesofgoodresearch.Onechallengeisabout
thescopeofevidencethatisembracedbytheconceptof‘evidence-based’anything.
Inforensicevidence,courtsusuallyofferaverybroadinvitationtofactsandmea-
sures in support of a hypothesis that bears on the case. In the United States they
evenallowtheoriesofcausationtobepresentedtojuries,apracticewidelyattacked
as ‘junk science’ until the US Supreme Court barred the use of theories that had
notbeentested,atleastinthefederalcourts(Daubertv.MerellDow,1993).While
many court decisions may still turn on theories that most scientists would dismiss
asnotadequatelyevidence-based,thestandardatleastrequiressomeevidence.
A far narrower scope for what is ‘evidence-based’ has been implied by those
whofocuson‘whatworks’,ortheimpactofprogrammesonoutcomes.iii Readers
might expect a series on evidence-based crime prevention to use that boundary.
They will, perhaps, be pleasantly surprised that we do not. As any definition of
goodmedicalpracticeholds,anaccuratediagnosisisaprerequisitetochoosingan
appropriatetreatment.Similarly,itisjustasimportanttoknow‘whatis’astoknow
‘whatworks’.Toolsandevidenceforclassifyingcrimesandcriminals,foranalysing
trendsandpatternsincriminalevents,understandinghowcrimesarecommittedand
maythereforebeprevented–alltheseareessentialformsofevidenceforthebroader
enterpriseofcrimeprevention.Evenresearchthatfocusesoninterventions isusu-
allyaccompaniedbydescriptiveanddiagnosticdataonthenatureofthecrimeissue
inquestion.Anentireseriesofbookscancertainlyaffordtodothesame.
Afurtherchallengeishowrigorousaseriesshouldbeindefiningadequateevi-
denceofcauseandeffect,orevendescriptiveestimatesofcrimepatterns.Ouraim
xi
