Minimum geocoding match rates: an international study of the impact of data and areal unit sizes

The analysis of geographically referenced data, specifically point data, is predicated on the accurate geocoding of those data. Geocoding refers to the process in which geographically referenced data (addresses, for example) are placed on a map. This process may lead to issues with positional accuracy or the inability to geocode an address. In this paper, we conduct an international investigation into the impact of the (in)ability to geocode an address on the resulting spatial pattern. We use a variety of point data sets of crime events (varying numbers of events and types of crime), a variety of areal units of analysis (varying the number and size of areal units), from a variety of countries (varying underlying administrative systems), and a locally-based spatial point pattern test to find the levels of geocoding match rates to maintain the spatial patterns of the original data when addresses are missing at random. We find that the level of geocoding success depends on the number of points and the number of areal units under analysis, but generally show that the necessary levels of geocoding success are lower than found in previous research. This finding is consistent across different national contexts

Charting Disaster Recovery via Google Street View: A Social Science Perspective on Challenges Raised by the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

There is increasing interest in using Google Street View (GSV) for research purposes, particularly with regard to “virtually auditing” the built environment to assess environmental quality. Research in this field to date generally suggests GSV is a reliable means of understanding the “real world” environment. But limitations around the dates and resolution of images have been identified. An emerging strand within this literature is also concerned with the potential of GSV to understand recovery post-disaster. Using the GSV data set for the evacuated area around the Fukushima Dai’ichi nuclear power plant as a case study, this article evaluates GSV as a means of assessing disaster recovery in a dynamic situation with remaining uncertainty and a significant value and emotive dimension. The article suggests that GSV does have value in giving a high-level overview of the post-disaster situation and has potential to track recovery and resettlement over time. Drawing on social science literature relating to Fukushima, and disasters more widely, the article also argues it is imperative for researchers using GSV to reflect carefully on the wider socio-cultural contexts that are often not represented in the photo montage

The influence of intra-daily activities and settings upon weekday violent crime in public space in Manchester, UK

People ebb and flow across the city. The spatial and temporal patterning of crime is, in part, reflective of this mobility, of the scale of the population present in any given setting at a particular time. It is also a function of capacity of this population to perform an active role as an offender, victim or guardian in any specific crime type, itself shaped by the time-variant activities undertaken in, and the qualities of, particular settings. To this end, this paper explores the intra-daily influence of activities and settings upon the weekday spatial and temporal patterning of violent crime in public spaces. This task is achieved through integrating a transient population dataset with travel survey, point-of-interest and recorded crime data in a study of Great Manchester (UK). The research deploys a negative binomial regression model controlling for spatial lag effects. It finds strong and independent, but time-variant, associations between leisure activities, leisure settings and the spatial and temporal patterning of violent crime in public space. The paper concludes by discussing the theoretical and empirical implications of these findings

De invloed van de fysieke omgeving op het inbraakrisico

FWO, project G.0070.11FdR – Publicaties zonder aanstelling Universiteit Leide

An integrative review on the social network dynamics of peer influence in youth networks

Social network analysis (SNA) offers interesting prospects to study the role of peer influence and group processes in the development of criminal behavior of youth. However, there is a lack of a comprehensive overview of the main research findings on deviant youth influence using a social network approach. In this integrative literature review, we examined what type of information is used for social networks of youth, how the network compositions affect deviant influence and how deviant influence is transmitted. 39 articles were selected through Scopus and Web of Science. First, the results showed that the analyses in the studies were mainly based on school-based surveys and a narrow range of deviant behavior. Second, while it was found that SNA can reveal more about the dynamics of deviant peer influence among youth, there were also conflicting findings regarding the impact of certain positions of nodes or network compositions. Third, the results showed that the spread of deviant influence seemed to diminish from a certain point, suggesting that direct and stronger contacts are more important for this spread. Future research can focus further on solving the remaining discrepancies by applying SNA, which could yield meaningful and more far-reaching results

De invloed van de fysieke omgeving op het inbraakrisico

FWO, project G.0070.11FdR – Publicaties zonder aanstelling Universiteit Leide

The effect of homophily on co-offending outcomes

This study explores how similarity preference among offenders impacts the structure of co-offending networks and the diffusion of information, modeled through skill exchange. Co-offending provides certain advantages, but factors such as trust and usefulness of co-offenders significantly influence these criminal collaborations. Using an Agent-Based Model, we simulate interactions between offenders based on varying levels of similarity preference, allowing us to observe network characteristics such as density, transitivity, average degree, tie weight, and skill acquisition. The results show that stronger similarity preferences lead to sparser but more stable criminal networks with a higher number of repeated interactions between the same offenders. However, increased exclusivity in partner selection reduces the information diffusion within the network, limiting the number of skills acquired by offenders. Conversely, inclusive partner selection facilitates greater skill exchange but results in fewer strong ties between offenders. This study highlights the trade-offs between stability and skill diffusion in criminal networks. Networks with high homophily tend to be more stable but less skilled, while more open networks allow for greater exchange of knowledge at the cost of connection strength. These findings contribute to the understanding of how offender collaboration shapes criminal network structures and the spread of criminal opportunities

The impact of violent behavior on co-offender selection : evidence of behavioral homophily

Purpose: Research into adolescent co-offending has predominantly focused on individual differences in cooffender selection, with less attention to diversity in offending behavior. Research suggests that offenders with a violent history may be less desirable as co-offenders, potentially leading to homophily based on offending behavior. This study aims to examine homophily based on violent offending behavior among co-offenders. Methods: We applied social network analysis to a Belgian co-offending network (N = 33,815) using police data and introduced a measure of individual violence level based on offense types. We hypothesized that suspects tend to co-offend with suspects who share a similar violence level, and examined the relationship between network structure and the suspects' violence level. Results: The results demonstrate a significant degree of homophily based on violence, with a more pronounced effect among non-violent suspects. This effect was consistent across different age groups. Conclusions: Our findings reveal behavioral homophily in violent offending behavior and highlight the importance of including older suspects to fully understand network dynamics. Intervention strategies should consider the broader criminal social environment to prevent the escalation of violence. Future research should employ dynamic network analyses to better understand the influence of violent behavior in co-offending networks over time

Navigating the social maze : an integrative review on the social network properties of deviant peer influence in adolescent networks

Social network analysis (SNA) holds great potential for examining the influence of peers and group dynamics on the development of criminal behavior among adolescents as it offers a robust framework for studying complex social interactions. However, there needs to be more knowledge regarding key research findings on deviant adolescent influence using a social network approach. In this integrative literature review, we examine what type of information is used to construct adolescents’ social networks, how network compositions affect deviant influence, and how deviant influence is transmitted. For this review, we selected 39 articles by searching Scopus and Web of Science. The results demonstrate that SNA offers valuable insights into the dynamics of deviant peer influence among adolescents. However, there are also conflicting findings that need further exploration. Future research could focus on these discrepancies and continue to leverage the power of SNA in studying the development of criminal behavior in adolescents. This review highlights the importance of SNA in better understanding the mechanisms behind peer influence and provides a roadmap for future research in this field