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Describing the Sensitivity of Spatial Patterns by Robbery Operationalization

Clutter, Jeffrey E
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0581-5359
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1543582749674871

Abstract Details

2018, PhD, University of Cincinnati, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Criminal Justice.
Opportunity theories of crime emphasize the importance of crime specificity, the tendency for crime to spatially cluster, and the influence that certain types of places have on the micro-level spatial distribution of crime events. Research using this theoretical framework overwhelmingly supports these assertions. However, much of this research falls short due in part to the choice of dependent variable. For instance, some research ignores the importance of crime specificity by using crime indices, which fail to account for the intricacies of criminal opportunity among crime types. Research focusing on individual crime types, such as robbery, also fail to account for within-crime type heterogeneity. Some newer research accounts for this by using disaggregated crime types, such as street, commercial, or residential robberies. That being said, how researchers define their dependent variable may influence their results and conclusions about the link between crime and place. The current study examines how sensitive spatial patterns of robberies are to different operationalizations of robbery. This study used Cincinnati Police Department robbery data from 2014 through 2016 (N = 4,066) which were then coded by Haberman et al. (forthcoming) to account for differences in victim-offender interaction and spatial environment. Using three different operationalizations of robbery, the following research questions were answered: (1) How, if at all, do different types of robbery spatially cluster? (2) Is the spatial clustering of robbery sensitive to its operationalization? (3) Is the relationship between potentially criminogenic places and robbery sensitive to its operationalization? The results suggest (1) all measures cluster spatially at small units of analysis; (2) while located in spatially proximate areas, differences were seen among the robbery measures and their clusters in terms of their makeup, where they were located, and how many clusters were formed; and (3) all measures were predicted by similar types of potentially criminogenic places. These results have implications for both theory and practice. Theoretically, the results conformed to expectations based on the law of crime concentration (Weisburd, 2015) as well as research linking facilities and crime (e.g. Bernasco & Block, 2011). Generally speaking, operationalization did not influence either of these findings. However, an examination of robbery measure-specific hot spots and spatial clusters suggest practical implications. Differences in these measures, coupled with the importance of crime specificity in environmental criminology (which is the framework of much crime and place research as well as prevention measures) imply that future research, when possible, should use dependent variables that are narrowly defined to support this framework.
Cory Haberman, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Nicholas Corsaro, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
John Eck, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Kenneth Novak, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
186 p.
Criminology
Robbery; Spatial Crime Patterns; Crime and Place; Environmental Criminology; Geography of Crime

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Clutter, J. E. (2018). Describing the Sensitivity of Spatial Patterns by Robbery Operationalization [Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1543582749674871

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Clutter, Jeffrey. Describing the Sensitivity of Spatial Patterns by Robbery Operationalization. 2018. University of Cincinnati, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1543582749674871.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Clutter, Jeffrey. "Describing the Sensitivity of Spatial Patterns by Robbery Operationalization." Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1543582749674871

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1543582749674871
274
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This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.