Mapping Crime Hotspots in Akure, Nigeria: A GIS Perspective

Oyinloye M Ajide,Olamiju I Oluwadare

doi:10.22158/uspa.v1n1p135

Abstract

African countries in recent times have witnessed an unprecedented level of insecurity. This has made national security threat to be a major issue for the government and has prompted huge allocation of the national budget to security. The objective of this paper is to mark out crime hotspot areas in the central area of Akure metropolis; and examine the rate at which crimes are committed, the surveillance method used and its effectiveness. The research made use of Google Earth imagery and Geographical Information System (GIS) technology to delineate crime hotspots in Akure. A 100m buffer was created around the identified crime hotspots to select houses that are susceptible to the impacts of crime activities in the study area. A structured questionnaire was also used to elicit information on crime, surveillance method, and effect of crime on the people and level of occurrence in the city among others. Findings identified six major crimes in eight hotspot areas; noise, loss of property and threat to life were some of the effects of hotspots on residents. The paper recommends construction/repair of roads in the core residential areas for effective surveillance of hotspots. The use of satellite images to combat crime in the city is also canvassed.

Highlights

Crime and urban violence have been justified as the most social problem in the world and is increasing at an alarming rate surpassing urbanization (Walker et al, 2009)
This has made national security threat to be a major issue for the government and has prompted huge allocation of the national budget to security
In order to ameliorate the incidence of crime, the Federal Government has embarked on criminalization of terrorism by passing the Anti-Terrorism Act in 2011, installation of Computer-based Closed Circuit Television cameras (CCTV) in some parts of the country, enhancement of surveillance as well as investigation of criminal related offences, heightening of physical security measures around the country aimed at deterring or disrupting potential attacks, strengthening of security agencies through the provision of security facilities and the development and broadcast of security tips in mass media (Azazi, 2011)

Summary

Introduction

Crime and urban violence have been justified as the most social problem in the world and is increasing at an alarming rate surpassing urbanization (Walker et al, 2009). In order to ameliorate the incidence of crime, the Federal Government has embarked on criminalization of terrorism by passing the Anti-Terrorism Act in 2011, installation of Computer-based Closed Circuit Television cameras (CCTV) in some parts of the country, enhancement of surveillance as well as investigation of criminal related offences, heightening of physical security measures around the country aimed at deterring or disrupting potential attacks, strengthening of security agencies through the provision of security facilities and the development and broadcast of security tips in mass media (Azazi, 2011) Despite these efforts, the level of insecurity in the country is still high. Satellite images and GIS function effectively when combined with capabilities of location identification devices such as the GPS for tracking the movement of high-risk inmates or at-risk personnel throughout an area Using these technological advancements to identify hotspots provides a consistent method to measure concentrations of criminal events over time (Azeez, 2014). Crime costs the South African government a substantial amount annually which is spent on administration of the criminal justice system and crime prevention programmes

Objectives

Methods

Findings

Discussion

Conclusion