NCJ Number
195329
Journal
Western Criminology Review Volume: 3 Issue: 2 Dated: 2002 Pages: 1-30
Date Published
2002
Length
30 pages
Annotation
This article introduces a new theoretical framework and mathematical technique to assess a criminal event from the five dimensions of space, time, law, offender, and target or victim.
Abstract
The authors of this article suggests that criminological research typically assesses a criminal event from the perspective of only one or two dimensions. Asserting that space, time, law, offender, and target or victim, the five dimensions of a criminal event, are all necessary to understand a crime, the authors introduce a theoretical framework and mathematical technique designed to deal with multiple dimensions of a crime simultaneously. Developing the ideas of metric spaces, distance, typology, and projection mapping, this article presents mathematical models for assessing simultaneous events that are clustered together in time, space, and other dimensions. The authors assert that through visualizing and analyzing criminal events using metric spaces, spatial boundaries are transcended enabling novel ways to address the complexities of crime and its distribution. Figures, references