Criminology 810
Phenomena of Crime I: Advanced Topics in Environmental Criminology
School of Criminology, Simon Fraser University
Spring 2012 (Term 1121)
Instructor: Prof. M.A. Andresen
Office: Saywell Hall 10207
Telephone: 778 – 782 – 7628
E-mail: andresen@sfu.ca
Web: http://www.sfu.ca/~andresen/
Office Hours: Mondays 130 – 220pm; Thursdays 1030 am – 1120 am; by appointment
Calendar Description:
Designed for the beginning graduate student, this course covers a wide variety of topics
all of which deal with what we know about the phenomena of crime historically,
temporarily and geographically. This course will look at the patterns of crime and
victimization, and will explore crime patterns at local, provincial, national and
international levels. Known characteristics of specific forms of crime will be studied.
Prerequisite:
This course will proceed with the assumption that students have completed CRIM 800 or
an equivalent course. Students are strongly advised to prepare for the course by
reviewing undergraduate level environmental criminology readings. See the course
outline for CRIM 352 on my web page.
Course Description:
This course covers a detailed analysis of some of the most recent advances in
environmental criminology. Both theoretical and empirical research is analyzed
throughout the course. The aim of this course is to provide students with the state of the
art in environmental criminology covering: new theoretical developments, crime at
places, geographic profiling, the crime drop in the 1990s, near repeat analysis, etc.
Course structure:
There is one seminar (3 hours) per week.
Course evaluation:
Weekly Seminar Contributions
Presentations / Reading Analyses
Term Paper (due last day of class)
30%
20%
50%
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Textbook:
Felson, M. (2006). Crime and Nature. Sage Publications.
There will also be required readings (journal articles) available through WebCT. You are
responsible to download, photocopy, or borrow these readings from the library.
Lecture topics, schedule, and readings:
Topic 1. Introduction to the course and environmental criminology
• Week 1 (09 January)
• Andresen, M.A. (2010). The place of environmental criminology within
criminological thought. In M.A. Andresen, P.J. Brantingham, and J.B. Kinney
(eds.) Classics in Environmental Criminology. Co-published: Burnaby, BC, SFU
Publications and Boca Raton, FL, Taylor & Francis, 5 - 28.
Topic 2. Crime at places
• Week 2 (16 January)
• Sherman, L.W., Gartin, P.R., and Buerger, M.E. (1989). Hot spots of predatory
crime: routine activities and the criminology of place. Criminology 27, 27 – 55.
• Smith, W.R., Frazee, S.G., Davison, E.L. (2000). Furthering the integration of
routine activity and social disorganization theories: small units of analysis and the
study of street robbery as a diffusion process. Criminology 38, 489 – 523.
• Weisburd, D., Bushway, S., Lum, C., and Yang, S. (2004). Trajectories of crime at
places: a longitudinal study of street segments in the City of Seattle. Criminology
42, 283 – 321.
• Groff, E.R., Weisburd, D., and Yang, S. (2010). Is it important to examine crime
trends at a local “micro” level?: a longitudinal analysis of street to street
variability in crime trajectories. Journal of Quantitative Criminology 26, 7 – 32.
• Andresen, M.A., and Malleson, N. (2011). Testing the stability of crime patterns:
implications for theory and policy. Journal of Research in Crime and
Delinquency 48: 58 - 82.
Topic 3. Geographic profiling
• Week 3 (23 January)
• Rossmo, K.D. (2006). Geographic profiling in cold case investigations. In Cold
Case Homicides: Practical Investigative Techniques, Walton, R.H. (ed.), 537 –
560. Boca Raton, FL, CRC Press.
• Le Comber, S.C., Nicholls, B., Rossmo, D.K., and Racey, P.A. (2006).
Geographic profiling and animal foraging. Journal of Theoretical Biology 240,
233 – 240.
• Raine, N.E., Rossmo, D.K., and Le Comber, S.C. (2009). Geographic profiling
applied to testing model of bumble-bee foraging. Journal of the Royal Society,
Interface 6, 307 – 319.
• Martin, R.A., Rossmo, D.K., and Hammerschlag, N. (2009). Hunting patterns and
geographic profiling of white shark predation. Journal of Zoology 279, 111 – 118.
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•
Rossmo, D.K., and Harries, K. (2011). The geospatial structure of terrorist cells.
Justice Quarterly 28, 221 – 248.
Topic 4. Repeat victimization
• Week 4 (30 January)
• Farrell, G., Phillips, C., and Pease, K. (1995). Like taking candy: why does repeat
victimization occur? British Journal of Criminology 35, 384 – 399.
• Bowers, K.J., Hirschfield, A., and Johnson, S.D. (1998). Victimization revisited: a
case study of non-residential repeat burglary on Mereyside. British Journal of
Criminology 38, 429 – 452.
• Tseloni, T., and Pease, K. (2003). Repeat personal victimization: ‘boosts’ or
‘flags’? British Journal of Criminology 43, 196 – 212.
• Sagovsky, A., and Johnson, S.D. (2007). When does repeat victimization occur?
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology 40, 1 – 26.
• Johnson, S.D. (2008). Repeat burglary victimization: a tale of two theories.
Journal of Experimental Criminology 4, 215 – 240.
Topic 5. Near-repeat victimization
• Week 5 (06 February)
• Townsley, M., Homel, R., and Chaseling, J. (2003). Infectious burglaries: a test of
the near repeat hypothesis. British Journal of Criminology 43, 615 – 633.
• Johnson, S.D., Bernasco, W., Bowers, K., Elffers, H., Ratcliffe, J., Rengert, G.,
and Townsley, M. (2007). Space-time patterns of risk: a cross national assessment
of residential burglary victimization. Journal of Quantitative Criminology 23,
201 – 219.
• Grubesic, T.H., and Mack, E.A. (2008). Spatio-temporal interaction of urban
crime. Journal of Quantitative Criminology 24, 285 – 306.
• Bernasco, W. (2008). Them again? Same-offender involvement in repeat and near
repeat burglaries. European Journal of Criminology 5, 411 – 431.
• Johnson, S.D., Summers, L., and Pease, K. (2009). Offender as forager? A direct
test of the boost account of victimization. Journal of Quantitative Criminology
25, 181 – 200.
READING BREAK (13 February – 17 February), NO CLASS
Topic 6. Crime drop in the 1990s
• Week 6 (20 February)
• LaFree, G. (1999). Declining violent crime rates in the 1990s: predicting crime
booms and busts. Annual Review of Sociology 25, 145 – 168.
• Levitt, S.D. (2004). Understanding why crime fell in the 1990s: four factors that
explain the decline and six that do not. Journal of Economic Perspectives 18, 163
– 190.
• Rosenfeld, R., and Messner, S.F. (2009). The crime drop in comparative
perspective: the impact of the economy and imprisonment on American and
European burglary rates. British Journal of Sociology 60, 445 – 471.
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•
•
Tseloni, A., Mailley, J., Farrell, G., and Tilley, N. (2010). Exploring the
international decline in crime rates. European Journal of Criminology 7, 375 –
394.
Farrell, G., Tseloni, A., Mailley, J., and Tilley, N. (2011). The crime drop and the
security hypothesis. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 48, 147 –
175.
Topic 7. Crime mapping and spatial analysis
• Week 8 (27 February)
• Harries, K. (1999). Mapping Crime: Principle and Practice. Washington, DC:
U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of
Justice. (200 pages)
• Eck, J.E., Chainey, S., Cameron, J.G., Leitner, M., and Wilson, R.E. (2005).
Mapping Crime: Understanding Hot Spots. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice. (80 pages)
• Openshaw, S. (1984). Ecological fallacies and the analysis of areal census data.
Environment and Planning A 16, 17 – 31.
• Fotheringham, A.S., and Wong, D.W.S. (1991). The modifiable areal unit problem
in multivariate statistical analysis. Environment and Planning A 23, 1025 – 1044.
• Rossmo, D.K., Lu, Y., and Fang, T. (2011). Spatial-temporal crime paths. In
Patterns, Prevention, and Geometry of Crime: Essays in Honour of P. & P.
Brantingham, in press.
Topic 8. New theoretical developments (Crime and Nature, hereafter, CN)
• Week 9 (05 March)
• CN, Chapters 1 to 7
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Week 10 (12 March)
CN, Chapters 8 to 15
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•
Week 11 (19 March)
CN, Chapters 16 to Epilogue
Class Presentations
• Weeks 12 and 13 ( 26 March, 02 April)
Term Paper Due: 02 April 2012
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ATTENTION STUDENTS WITH A DISABILITY: Please contact the Centre for
Students with Disabilities, (MBC 1250 or Phone 778-782-3112) if you need or require
assistance, not your individual instructors.
N.B.: Students are reminded that attendance in the first week of classes is important.
However, there are no tutorials in the first week.
Assignments not submitted to the Professor/T.A. during class/office hours must be placed
in the security box at the School of Criminology General Office (Saywell Hall). The box
is emptied Monday to Friday at 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. only and the contents are date
stamped accordingly. No other department’s date stamp will apply (e.g. Library/Campus
Security) and the School of Criminology is not responsible for assignments submitted any
other way (e.g. slid under office doors).
E-mail policy: The School of Criminology STRONGLY DISCOURAGES the use of email in lieu of office hour visits. Criminology advises its instructional staff that they are
NOT required to respond to student e-mails and that students wishing to confer with them
should do so in person during scheduled meeting times.
The University does NOT accept assignments by fax.
The University has formal policies regarding intellectual dishonesty and grade appeals
which may be obtained from the General Office of the School of Criminology.
UNIVERSITY POLICY FORBIDS FINAL EXAMINATIONS WHILE CLASSES ARE
STILL IN SESSION.
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