Understanding Spatial Patterns of Urban Crime in a Developing Country

Research into spatial patterns of urban crime is not new and the findings of such studies have consistently demonstrated that crime is spatially concentrated. Moreover, the uneven distribution of offences, particularly in the case of property crime (e.g. burglary), is typically found to be correlated with characteristics of both the social and built environment. However, most of the published research to date has been focused on Euro–America cities – little is known about the spatial patterns of urban crime in developing countries such as Nigeria. Consequently, it is unclear if theories derived to explain spatial patterns of urban crime in Euro–American cities have utility for explaining those in developing countries. This research attempts to address this gap. Primary data were collected using two methods. First, a block environmental inventory (BEI) exercise was conducted to collect data on all 13,687 properties (and the streets on which they were located) in a study area within the city of Kaduna – Nigeria. Second, a crime victimisation survey was conducted for a sample of about one in four properties (N=3,294). The key question this thesis will address is how well can mainstream Euro–American theories of urban crime explain the spatial distribution of crime in the context of developing countries? Specifically, hypotheses were tested regarding (a) whether the “law of crime concentration at place” applies in the context of Nigeria and (b) the utility of the two main theoretical perspectives in environmental criminology, opportunity and social disorganisation, in explaining variations in the rates of urban crime. The results are mixed – supporting premise of such theories in some cases but not in others