THE LAW OF CRIME CONCENTRATION AND THE CRIMINOLOGY OF PLACE*

Abstract

According to Laub (2004), criminology has a developmental life course with specific turning points that allow for innovations in how we understand and respond to crime. I argue that criminology should take another turn in direction, focusing on microgeographic hot spots. By examining articles published in Criminology , I show that only marginal attention has been paid to this area of study to date—often termed the criminology of place. I illustrate the potential utility of a turning point by examining the law of crime concentration at place, which states that for a defined measure of crime at a specific microgeographic unit, the concentration of crime will fall within a narrow bandwidth of percentages for a defined cumulative proportion of crime. By providing the first cross‐city comparison of crime concentration using a common geographic unit, the same crime type, and examining a general crime measure, I find strong support for a law of crime concentration. I also show that crime concentration stays within a narrow bandwidth across time, despite strong volatility in crime incidents. By drawing from these findings, I identify several key research questions for future study. In conclusion, I argue that a focus on the criminology of place provides significant opportunity for young scholars and has great promise for advancing criminology as a science.

Cite this

David L. Weisburd (2015). THE LAW OF CRIME CONCENTRATION AND THE CRIMINOLOGY OF PLACE*. Criminology. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9125.12070

@article{l2015the,
  title  = {THE LAW OF CRIME CONCENTRATION AND THE CRIMINOLOGY OF PLACE*},
  author = {Weisburd, David L.},
  year   = {2015},
  journal = {Criminology},
  doi    = {10.1111/1745-9125.12070}
}

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