A Spatial Analysis of Calls for Police Service
and Bar Locations in Downtown Vancouver

by

J. Bryan Kinney, M.A.

Introductory Remarks

• The Topic Explained

• (“You study what?”)

• Objectives of this Thesis

• case study using environmental criminology approach (pattern theory)

• prepare and test methodology and data

• explore the possibility that bars impact the distribution of incidents requiring police services

Outline

• What is “environmental criminology”

• Urban crime analysis—areas of focus

• Computerized (GIS) crime mapping

• Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) records

• Downtown Vancouver Bars and calls for police service

What is “Environmental Criminology”

• An approach to criminological research that focuses on the characteristics of the built (physical) and social (perceptual) environment

• Crime not randomly distributed across space/time

• How people move about in the urban landscape has a powerful impact upon the distribution of activities—both legal and illegal.

• Paul and Patricia Brantingham (SFU)

Theory

• Principles of Pattern Theory

• “environmental backcloth”

• routine activities

• awareness space

• nodes, edges and pathways

• crime attractors and generators

• Downtown & Surrounds

• Pathways to Downtown

Previous Research

• Frisbie et al. (1977)

• Graham et al. (1980)

• Roncek et al. (1989; 1991)

• Block and Block (1995)

Nature of CAD Data

• Calls for police service

• dispatch records; purpose of; exclusions

• CAD records as a data source

• strengths

• extensive; unscreened; systematic; archival possibilities

• limitations

• call for police service does not necessarily = “crime”

• dark figure; reporting / accuracy issues

Call Categories of Interest

Geocoding

• Definition of the term

• Basics of GIS (Geographic Information Systems) computer mapping

• address matching issues

• problems, special addresses

• example: Licensed Premises Locations

Methodology

• Spatial component (buffers)

• Temporal component (bartime hours)

• Liquor license classification (A and C)

Key Findings

• Bar buffer analysis suggests that bar buffers contain markedly different proportions of incidents than the area as a whole

– this trend is amplified when only calls occurring between 10pm and 4am are considered

• classification of liquor license appears to be related to the character of the nature and number of calls within the various buffer zones

• Class A buffer zones tend to contain proportionately more incivilities calls than Class C establishments

• Class C buffers tend to contain proportionately more violence calls than Class A establishments

• CAD data and computer mapping: a successful partnership

Discussion

• How do the findings further our understanding of bars and crime?

• Class A v. Class C trends

• complexity of the ecology of crime

• Planning and policy implications

• entertainment districts

• licensing; enforcement; policing

Concluding Remarks

• Where Do We Go From Here?

• Future research

• methodological advancements

• data triangulation