Spatial analysis of crime: Aggravated assault, homicide and rape patterns in the city of Louisville (1989--1998)

Crime and place has emerged as a central concern and primary focus of crime prevention theories and effort. The purpose of the study is to analyze spatial crime patterns of assaults, homicides and rapes for a period of ten years (1989 to 1998) in the City of Louisville, KY. This study is a community level analysis. Using crime mapping as a tool, crime can be predicted by its address of occurrence, as situational crime prevention policy measure. Louisville Police Department provided the data for the study. The data was geocoded and crime maps were generated.;Park Duvalle was one of the major historic hotspot till 1996. The revitalization of the two vulnerable low income public housing developments and the acquisition of nearby dilapidated and unattended private apartment, by the Housing Authority of Louisville, caused a shift in the clustering pattern at Park Duvalle, in the years 1997 and 1998.;Crime maps showed that there were displacements of crime from Park Duvalle to other neighborhoods. The crime displacement pattern suggested that the crime were intensified in those neighborhoods particularly in the Center Business District, where majority of the former residents of Park Duvalle low income public housing were relocated. Quantitative analysis also supported that the income level was the major contributory factor for variations in assaults, homicides and rapes in the City. Census Blocks with low income residents had higher counts of assaults, homicides and rapes in the study. The study also support the view that blocks with low income public housing developments do exhibit higher incidence of all three crimes in the study. The study suggests decentralizing low income families receiving public housing support. Public housing projects should be less centralized especially in the center business district of the city. Accurate prediction of crime using crime mapping as a tool is an endeavor towards crime prevention policy with minimal displacement.