A time for a crime

Feb 7, 2019

Photo: Steven-Hille-3506

Why do offenders commit crimes where and when they do? Improving on extant theory and empirical research in the geography of crime, this PhD project investigates how offenders’ time-specific knowledge of their environment acquired during their daily routines and the time-varying attractiveness of target areas affect offenders' crime location choices. Combining police register data on offenders and their offenses with unique data on the locations the offenders frequently visit and data on opening and closing hours of Dutch businesses and facilities, this cutting-edge research project not only advances scientific knowledge, but also contributes to better crime forecasting and urban planning. The project also does a survey among offenders, asking them about temporal details of their routine activities and where and when they committed offenses.
This project is funded by an NWO Research Talent 2016 grant, no. 406.16.504 for PhD candidate <a href=“https://www.nscr.nl/en/author/sabine-van-sleeuwen/"target=_blank>Sabine van Sleeuwen.

Spatio-temporal

Professor / Senior Researcher

Trained as a quantitative sociologist, specialized in geographic and environmental criminology, interested in understanding why crime happens where and when it does and rigorous testing of its explanations and the policies and practices to prevent it.