Geographic Patterns

Understanding Spatial Variations

Research on geography and interpersonal violence examines variations in violence across very broad geographical areas down to relatively small areas. It has demonstrated significant regional variations within countries, variation within regions, within cities, and within neighborhoods. Many of the studies of the relationship between geography and crime rely on official data provided by law enforcement officials such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program. Since many crimes of violence are not reported to the police, these findings must be viewed cautiously. Other studies use data generated by self-report studies, including the Department of Justice National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS).

Throughout the 20th century, homicide rates showed a consistent regional variation. The South has had the highest rate of homicides, followed by the West, then the Midwest. The Northeast has consistently had the lowest homicide rate. Rates of sexual assault and other assaults also vary across regions. Based on the recent self-report studies of the NCVS, the Northeast has the lowest rate of sexual assaults. The Midwest has the next lowest rate of sexual assaults, and the South and the West report the highest rates.

Within regions, there is considerable variation in violent crime rates across areas. Data from the UCR and the NCVS show that urban areas have higher rates of violent offenses than suburban areas, which are higher than rural areas. The 2005 NCVS reported a violent victimization rate for persons age 12 and over of 29.8 per 1,000 urban residents, 18.6 for suburban residents, and 16.4 for rural residents. This overall pattern was similar for rapes and sexual assaults (1.5 per 1,000 for urban areas, 0.7 for suburban areas, and 0.1 for rural areas) as well as robberies (4.7, 1.9, 1.4, respectively) and other assaults (23.6, 16.0, 14.9, respectively).

Crime is not evenly distributed across city neighborhoods. Many neighborhoods in the same city have much higher crime rates than others. In most cities, the majority of violent offenses occur in a small percentage of the city's neighborhoods. For example, William J. Wilson pointed out that over half of the murders and aggravated assaults in Chicago occurred in 7 of the city's 24 police districts. Areas that have higher rates of violent offenses tend to have higher [Page 294]rates of poverty, residential mobility, and ethnic heterogeneity. Extremely deprived areas have much higher rates of violent crime than areas with moderate or low levels of disadvantage.

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