Identifying Crime Hot Spots Using Kernel Smoothing

For decades, crime analysts have used maps to identify hot spots, areas where crimes cluster in space and time. Hot spots are geographical areas that contain an unusually high concentration of crime events. In identifying hot spots, one can focus narrowly on crimes of a particular type or with specific characteristics or broadly on places where the overall risk of crime is high. Hot spot areas are of great importance for crime control and prevention. Experience in cities as diverse as Jersey City and Minneapolis shows that place-based strategies ...