| Crime displacement and the related problem of diffusion of crime control benefits have generally not been a primary subject of empirical study. Most evidence about displacement and diffusion comes as a byproduct of study of something else (the direct effects of crime prevention strategies). This fact has hindered investigation of these phenomena, and has created important gaps in our understanding of the reliability of measures of displacement and diffusion. We report on a controlled study in which police strategies were implemented within specific geographic areas (crime hot spots) during specific time periods in order to measure potential displacement and diffusion effects. Three areas were examined representing property, violent and consensual offenses. Data collection included ethnographies, citizen surveys, official crime data, social observations, interviews and physical observations. We report on our overall findings regarding the magnitude and types of displacement and diffusion impacts observed. We also develop a model for understanding displacement and diffusion in the context of crime hot spots. |
Updated 05/20/2006