Crimes Pattern in Detroit, MI: The Relationship of Property Crimes and Burglaries with Demographic Factors.

Keywords: Crime Pattern, Spatial Analysis, Property Crime, Burglaries, Detroit, Demographic Factors
Session Type: Virtual Poster Abstract
Day: Friday
Session Start / End Time: 2/25/2022 05:20 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/25/2022 06:40 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 21

Abstract

In the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, property crime includes burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. Although the general trend in crime is decreasing across the United States, property crime and burglary account for property losses amounting to several billions of dollars to states and many urban areas. Geographic Information System (GIS) is broadly used to monitor and detect crime patterns. The study analyzed the spatial pattern of property crime and burglaries at the block group level in Detroit by applying GIS techniques. We used Kernel density, Getis-Ord Gi*, and Local Moran’s I statistics to identify property crime and burglary hot spots to facilitate tactical and operational policing in Detroit. The study found the distribution of property crime and burglaries to be clustered. The distribution of property crime and burglaries followed a similar pattern with the distribution of unemployment rate, median household income, percentage of young population, and race, indicating demographic factors have a strong correlation with property crime and burglaries in the study area. In terms of race and crime, property crime affects block groups with a high percentage of white than black. On the other hand, burglaries correlate with a high rate of African American block groups than white.