Abstract
This paper analyzes the correlation between drug trafficking and homicides in the city of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais - Brazil, to identify the spatial relationship between these phenomena in the urban environment. Based on data from the police reports in the period of 2007 to 2016, the spatial patterns of these criminal typologies and their spatial association were evaluated. The data were grouped on a 500-meter square grid, showing the main hot spots for the two types of crimes, as well as their recurrence. To complement the analysis, an indicator was proposed based on the assumptions of Ousey and Lee (2002), who describe the pre-existing social conditions for the relationship between drug trafficking and homicides to be established. From the methodology adopted, it was possible to verify the spatial association between the two criminal classifications, as well as the tendency for clusters of cells with a high incidence of crimes to be formed. There was also an association between the empirical data and those regions of the city where the pre-existing social conditions that encourage the association between drug trafficking and homicides are present, reinforcing the idea that the illegal drug market is a contingent cause of lethal violence. Keywords: Violence. Homicide, Drug Trafficking, Spatial Analysis, Spatial correlation.
Highlights
Different studies have consistently found strong connections between drugs and violence (GOLDSTEIN, 1985)
It is observed that the curves cross precisely in the year the analysis period began, and after this, the trend was for the number of drug trafficking events to increase whilst the number of homicides fell
It is worth noting that 2000 marks the beginning of the Homicide Control Program (Fica Vivo) in Belo Horizonte, which was institutionalized by the state government in 2003
Summary
Different studies have consistently found strong connections between drugs and violence (GOLDSTEIN, 1985). There appears to be a close association between drugs and violence, and drug use and trafficking seem to be important etiological factors in the incidence of violence, little effort has been made to place this relationship in a conceptual framework to guide further empirical research (GOLDSTEIN, 1985). Goldstein (1985), argues that, in general, the introduction and expansion of illicit markets lead to increased violence. This is mainly because participants in illegal markets have no legal recourse when business transactions go wrong
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