NCJ Number
140202
Journal
Reports of the National Research Institute of Police Science Volume: 33 Issue: 1 Dated: (July 1992) Pages: 42-61
Date Published
1992
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This study sought to clarify characteristics of urban areas in Japan with a high probability of crime occurrence and to obtain basic data for analyzing and examining what to consider in creating an urban area with a high degree of defensibility.
Abstract
Criminal offenders were asked to judge which urban areas would be chosen, based on the ease of committing a crime. The study included 102 offenders who stole from houses and shops, 63 offenders who snatched another's belongings on the street, and 99 offenders who committed sexual crimes outdoors. Of the 264 offenders, only two were female. It was found that thieves chose cities, whereas sex offenders preferred more rural areas. Further, within cities, city centers or center fringes were preferable. Most thieves and sex offenders who chose houses as their targets preferred traditional residential areas. Many thieves, however, chose commercial areas as their targets, specifically eating and drinking establishments. Thieves who committed crimes on the street tended to fall somewhere between thieves who preyed on homes and those who preyed on shops. Sex offenders who entered houses to commit crimes tended to make selections similar to thieves who targeted houses. In contrast, sex offenders who did their work on the street chose areas with parks and farms where people were absent at certain times of the day. Thieves said government office districts were more difficult crime targets. 9 references, 26 tables, and 6 figures