Examining Crime-Specific and Crime-General Theories of Crime Causation at Place: The Case of Property and Violent Crime on Street Segments in Tel Aviv-Yafo

Abstract

AbstractWe use data on street segments in Tel Aviv-Yafo to examine whether general or specific crime factors are key to understanding crime rates on street segments. We pose two questions. (1) What causal factors explain the property and violent crimes at the same locations? (2) What are the differences and similarities between the risk factors of the two crime types? Our study capitalizes on data drawn from the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) to identify social and opportunity data at the street segment level. The dependent variable is the average counts of violent and property crimes in Tel Aviv-Yafo between 2010 and 2014. Zero-inflated negative binomial (ZINB) regression explains violent and property crime variations. While many of the significant factors that explain crime are similar between the two crime types, there are also distinct criminogenic factors predicting violent and property crime. Overall, our results support the position of common or general crime causes at places, but at the same time, they suggest the importance of understanding specific causes for specific crime types.