Skip to main content
Log in

Measuring the Geographical Displacement and Diffusion of Benefit Effects of Crime Prevention Activity

  • Published:
Journal of Quantitative Criminology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The displacement of crime is an important criminological phenomenon. However, while there has been theoretical discussion of this issue in the research literature, there has been little in the way of either standardized empirical work that investigates the incidence of displacement or in the development of techniques that can be used to measure it. In the current paper we discuss a new technique, the weighted displacement quotient (WDQ), that was developed to measure the geographical displacement of crime. A critical feature of the rationale is that displacement can only be attributed to crime prevention activity if crime is reduced in the target area considered. Thus, the WDQ not only measures what occurs in a buffer (displacement) zone but also relates changes in this area to those in the target area. Part of the appeal of the measure is that it can be used either with aggregate or disaggregate crime data and for any geographical boundary selected, provided the appropriate data are available. In addition to detecting displacement, when detailed data are available, the technique can also be used to identify where the effect was most prominent. The WDQ can equally be used to measure the diffusion of benefit of any crime prevention activity. A series of examples are presented for illustration purposes.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  • Allat, P. (1984). Residential security: Containment and displacement of burglary. Howard J. Crim. Justice 23(2): 99-116.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ashton, J., Brown, I., Senior, B., and Pease, K. (1998). Repeat victimisation: Offender accounts. Int. J. Risk Secur. Crime Prev. 269-279.

  • Bailey, T. C., and Gatrell, A. C. (1995). Interactive Spatial Data Analysis, Longman, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barnes, G. (1995). Defining and optimising displacement. In: Eck, J., and Weisburd, D. (eds.), Crime and Place. Crime Prevention Studies (Vol. 4), Criminal Justice Press, Monsey, NY, pp. 95-114.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barr, R., and Pease, K. (1990). Crime placement, displacement and deflection. Crime Justice: Rev. Res. 12: 277-318.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bennett, T., and Wright, R. (1984). Burglars on Burglary. Prevention and the Offender, Gower, Aldershot.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowers, K. J., Johnson, S. D., and Hirschfield A. F. G. (2003). Pushing Back the Boundaries:New Techniques for Assessing the Impact of Burglary Reduction Schemes. Home Office Research Study 246, Home Office, London (forthcoming).

  • Braga, A., Weisburd, D., Waring, E. J., Green, L., Spelman, W., and Gajewski, F. (1999). Problem-oriented policing in violent crime places: A randomized controlled experiment. Criminology 37: 541-580.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brantingham, P. L., and Brantingham, P. J. (1981). Notes on the geometry of crime. In: Brantingham, P. J., and Brantingham, P. L. (eds.), Environmental Criminology, Sage, Beverly Hills, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brantingham, P. L., and Brantingham, P. J. (2000). A Conceptual Model for Anticipating Crime Displacement. Paper presented at the American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA.

  • Clarke, R. V., and Weisburd, D. (1994). Diffusion of crime control benefits: Observations on the reverse of displacement. In: Clarke, R. (ed.), Crime Prevention Studies (Vol. 3), Willow Tree Press, Monsey, NY.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cliff, A. D., and Ord, J. K. (1981). Spatial Processes: Models and Applications, Pion, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cornish, D. B., and Clarke, R. V. (1989). Crime specialization, crime displacement and rational choice theory. In: Wegner, H., Losel, F., and Haisch, J. (eds.), Criminal Behavior and the Justice System: Pscyhological Perspectives, Springer-Verlag, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eck, J. (1993). The threat of crime displacement. Crim. Justice Abstr. 25: 527-546.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eck, J., and Spelman, W. (1987). Problem-Oriented Policing in Newport News, Police Executive Research Forum, Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hakim, S., and Rengert, G. (1981). Crime Spillover, Sage, Beverly Hills, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton-Smith, N. (2002). Anticipated consequences: Developing a strategy for the targeted measurement of displacement and diffusion of benefits. In: Tilley, N. (ed.), Crime Prevention Studies: Evaluation for Crime Prevention (Vol. 14).

  • Hesseling, R. B. P. (1995). Displacement: A review of the empirical literature. In: Clarke, R. V. (ed.), Crime Prevention Studies (Vol. 2), Criminal Justice Press, Monsey, NY, pp. 197-230.

    Google Scholar 

  • Katzman, M. T. (1981). The supply of criminals: A geo-economic examination. In: Hakim, S., and Rengert, G. F. (eds.), Crime Spillover, Sage, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lavigne, N., and Groff, E. R. (2001). The evolution of crime mapping in the United States: From the descriptive to the analytic. In: Hirschfield, A., and Bowers, K. (eds.), Mapping and Analysing Crime Data: Lessons from Research and Practice, Taylor and Francis, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miethe, T. D. (1991). Citizen-based crime control activity and victimisation risks: an examination of displacement and free-rider effects. Criminology 29(3): 419-439.

    Google Scholar 

  • Repetto, T. A. (1974). Residential Crime, Ballinger, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roncek, D. W., and Montgomery, A. (1993). Spatial autocorrelation revisited: Conceptual underpinning and practical guidelines for the use of the generalised potential as a remedy for spatial autocorrelation in large samples. In: Block, C. R., and Dabdoub, M. (eds.), Workshop on Crime Analysis Through Computer Mapping Proceedings, Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, Chicago, IL.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weisburd, D., and Green, L. (1995a). Policing drug hot spots: The Jersey City drug market analysis experiment. Justice Qtly 12(4): 711-735.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weisburd, D., and Green, L. (1995b).Measuring immediate spatial displacement: Methodological issues and problems. In: Eck, J. E., and Weisburd, D. (eds.), Crime and Place. Crime Prevention Studies (Vol. 4), Criminal Justice Press, Monsey, NY.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiles, P., and Costello, A. (2000). The “Road to Nowhere”: The evidence for travelling criminals. Home Office Research Study No. 207, Policing and Reducing Crime Unit, Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate, London.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Bowers, K.J., Johnson, S.D. Measuring the Geographical Displacement and Diffusion of Benefit Effects of Crime Prevention Activity. Journal of Quantitative Criminology 19, 275–301 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024909009240

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024909009240

Navigation