Homicide Patterns in Urban Places:A Geospatial Analysis of Homicide in Baltimore, M.D.

Extant criminological research examining research questions oriented on understanding the spatial distribution of violent crime instances, such as homicide, have often employed the theoretical foundations of both social disorganization theory and routine activities theory. Though there is much research using these theories independently and in conjunction with one another, few studies have integrated the theories in analyses of homicide at multiple levels of aggregation. The current study is conducted to analyze homicide incidents in Baltimore, Maryland from 2014 through 2018. The analysis conducted considers both social disorganization and routine activities theory variables to test the explanatory power of each theory regarding homicide at both the census tract and block group levels of analysis. ArcGIS Pro 2.9.2 is used to display the results in a visual manner. Negative binomial regression analyses are conducted to examine the impact of theoretical variables of interest on homicide count within the metropolitan area of Baltimore city. The results of this study have further implications regarding our understanding of the theoretical applications of both social disorganization and routine activities theories in understanding the spatial distribution of instances of major violent crimes, specifically regarding homicide