Spatial Determinants of Crime in Krakow, 2017-2021 Cover Image

Przestrzenne determinanty przestępczości w Krakowie w latach 2017-2021
Spatial Determinants of Crime in Krakow, 2017-2021

Author(s): Agnieszka Polończyk
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Penal Policy
Published by: KSIĘGARNIA AKADEMICKA Sp. z o.o.
Keywords: crime; environmental criminology; geography of crime; spatial analyses

Summary/Abstract: The article presents a spatial analysis of selected types of crimes committed in Krakow in 2017-2021. Spatial data on crimes from the Police registers, the numbers of which were presented in tabular form, and data on the distribution of municipal monitoring were used for the research. The first step was to determine the type of spatial distribution of criminal offenses using the Nearest Neighbour Analysis method. As a result of determining the type of distribution as a clustered distribution, a detailed identification of the places of the highest concentration of criminal events in the city was initiated. For this purpose, the method of kernel density estimation showing the distribution of intensity of criminal events was used. Analyzes showed the highest concentration of violent crimes in Krakow in 2017-2021 in the city center, while crimes against property was evenly distributed throughout the city, with the exception of its suburbs. The last stage was a detailed spatial analysis of places defined as “hot spots” in terms of their functional and spatial conditions and situational conditions conducive to or hindering the commission of crimes there. The analysis was made on the basis of the local inspection of “hot spots”. The obtained research results were compared to the criminological theories presented in the article and the results of research in this scope presented both in Poland and abroad.

  • Issue Year: 19/2022
  • Issue No: 79
  • Page Range: 287-326
  • Page Count: 40
  • Language: Polish