Publication Summary
OBJECTIVESThis scoping review aims to answer the following question: To what extent have the mechanisms behind crime generators and attractors been studied? METHODSThis work follows the procedure laid out by the Joanna Briggs Institute for scoping reviews (Tricco, 2017). RESULTSWithin the studies included in this review, a great deal of inconsistency in the definitions of crime generators and attractors was found. Moreover, of the 48 papers included, only 11 examined the mechanisms behind crime generators and attractors. CONCLUSIONSThis scoping review finds a dearth of research into the mechanisms behind crime generators and attractors. This review suggests three potential reasons for this: the lack of consistent definitions for these types of spaces; challenges identifying suitable datasets and methodologies to study these processes empirically; and the fact that crime generators and attractors are not mutually exclusive.
CAER Authors
Dr. Daniel Birks
University of Leeds - Associate Professor of Quantitative Policing & Crime Data Analytics