Spatial analysis for crime pattern of metropolis in transition using police records and GIS: A case study of Shanghai, China

Abstract

Crime is a long plagued issue of human society. Especially, with the expansion of cities and population aggregation in recent years, crime problems have become a great challenge in urbanization process. Both urban policy-makers and police departments have realized the importance of a better understanding of the dynamics of crime. This study explores the spatial characteristic of crime in Shanghai using Geographical Information System (GIS) and police call data of the metropolis in 2006. In the research, the combination of both applied and theoretical methods is used to analyze the characteristics of Shanghai crime. To find out the crime pattern of the city, three spatial levels (i.e. macrolevel, mesolevel and microlevel) are adopted. In this paper the crime is divided into two categories: violent crime and property crime. The spatial distribution of the two kinds of crimes is analyzed on a comparative basis of different properties in terms of land use type and population features, and the relevant factors of the crime pattern are investigated. The results reveal that there are some hotspots in downtown, transportation hubs, where population density is relatively high and the crime density decreases gradually away from the center. The analytical and theoretical result will undoubtedly lead to enhanced crime prevention strategies of Shanghai in the future.