Criminology Commons^™

Risk Factor And High-Risk Place Variations Across Different Robbery Targets In Denver, Colorado, Nathan T. Connealy, Eric L. Piza

Publications and Research

Purpose

Risk Terrain Modeling (RTM) has been effectively used to spatially diagnose risk for crimes such as robbery, aggravated assault, and gun violence. An important contribution is to consider how risk differs across individual crimes and different target types. This study tests four different robbery target types in unique models to examine the potential for variation across significant risk factors and high-risk locations.

Methods

Using the online diagnostic software RTMDx, individual robbery models were run for four robbery target types in Denver, Colorado: commercial (businesses), carjacking (driver/vehicle), residential (home/dwelling), and street (pedestrians). A conjunctive analysis of case configurations was also …

Script Analysis Of Open-Air Drug Selling: A Systematic Social Observation Of Cctv Footage, Victoria A. Sytsma, Eric L. Piza

Publications and Research

Objectives: Through the use of closed-circuit television (CCTV) video foo- tage, the current study builds upon the drug transaction work of Piza and Sytsma by developing a crime script for open-air drug selling.

Methods: Researchers conducted a systematic social observation of CCTV footage of open-air drug markets in Newark, NJ. The data were used to identify sequential stages of drug transactions. Fisher’s exact tests measured whether buyer and seller activities during specific acts of the drug transaction event were related to activities seen in subsequent stages.

Results: This study finds three distinct acts to open-air drug events. During the pretransaction …

Exploring The Defensive Actions Of Drug Sellers In Open-Air Markets: A Systematic Social Observation., Eric Piza, Victoria A. Sytsma

Publications and Research

Objectives: The current study contributes to the literature through a systematic social observation of the defensive actions of drug sellers within open-air retail markets. The study expands upon previous literature by incorporating a novel data collection and coding method.

Methods: Video footage of narcotics transactions was extracted from the closed-circuit television (CCTV) system of the Newark, NJ Police Department. Researchers transcribed and coded the footage to measure the frequency of defensive actions incorporated by drug sellers. Fisher’s exact tests measured whether the frequency of each defensive action significantly differed across geographic setting or time of day.

Results: The frequency of …