The Geography of Citizen Crime Reporting

Abstract

Research has shown variable conceptualizations of neighborhood, often inconsistent with administrative boundaries. The present investigation seeks to quantify the geographic area encompassed by citizens' reporting of crime. Two Chicago violence prevention organizations gathered near real-time citizen reports of crime and other precursors of violence in a south side community. Over the course of 6 months, 48 community residents participated in a weekly telephone survey about incidents occurring in their community, including crime, incivilities, and disorder. For each incident reported in the study community, respondents were asked to specify its location, whether it was witnessed or heard about, and if it occurred within one block of their residence. Incident locations were geocoded and used to compute distance from residence. Incident reporting radii were calculated for all types of incidents. Calculated distances of events reported within a block revealed discrepancies between resident perceptions and geographic apportionments. On average, incident reports spanned just over a half-mile geographic radius from respondents' residences. Reporting radii were greater for more violent incidents and shorter for incidents witnessed directly. There was no effect of age, gender, length of residence, or length of participation in the study on reporting radii. Descriptions of reporting radii and implications for crime prevention efforts and research are discussed.