The Spatial Concentration and Dispersion of Homicide during a Period of Homicide Increase in Brazil

Spencer P Chainey,Franklin Epiphanio Gomes De Almeida

doi:10.3390/ijgi10080529

Spencer P Chainey, Franklin Epiphanio Gomes De Almeida

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi10080529

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Abstract

This study applies the principles of measuring micro-place crime concentration and the spatial dispersion of crime increase to the geographic unit of cities in Brazil. We identify that a small number of cities account for a large cumulative proportion of homicides, and that during a period of homicide increase 30 cities out of 5570 accounted for the equivalent national increase in homicides. The majority of the 30 cities were not established high homicide cities but instead were new emerging centers of homicide that neighbor high homicide cities. We suggest the findings can be used to better target effective programs for decreasing homicides.

Highlights

Brazil consistently accounts for one in seven of all recorded homicides in the world, yet represents only 3% of the world’s population [1,2]
We recognize that within cities there is great spatial heterogeneity in social, economic and environmental conditions. This is something that micro-place studies have examined and exposed, and we recognize that the spatial concentration and dispersion of homicide increase is likely to be as acute within cities as the results we show across Brazil in the current study
A small number of cities account for a large proportion of homicides in Brazil

Summary

Introduction

Brazil consistently accounts for one in seven of all recorded homicides in the world, yet represents only 3% of the world’s population [1,2]. Latin America, Brazil’s high levels of homicide are representative of the issues of violence in the region, and because of the significant role the country plays in the region’s social development and prosperity, research on homicide in Brazil is valuable for understanding. In this paper we build on the research about the variation in homicides in Brazil by analyzing the geographic dynamics of homicide trends across the country, and by doing so illustrate how the methods we use can be applied to examining crime patterns across a country. The methods we use involve an examination of the spatial concentration of homicides in Brazil at the city level and an examination of the spatial dispersion of homicides across these cities during a period of homicide increase

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