Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology

Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology

Understanding Spatial-Criminological Causation of Crimes in Crime-Prone Areas and Preventive Measures from the Police Perspective with Emphasis on the CPTED Approach: A Case Study of the City of Babol

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Amir Gorjizadeh Otaghsara 1
Hasan Hajitabar Firozjaee 2
Mehdi Esmaili 3
1 PhD Student of Criminal Law and Criminology, Faculty of Humanities, Ayatollah Amoli Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mazandaran, Iran.
2 Associate Professor, Department of Law, Faculty of Humanities, Qaemshahr Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mazandaran, Iran.
3 Associate Professor, Department of Law, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
10.22034/jclc.2024.459465.2015
Abstract
Objective: The purpose of the present study is to investigate and analyze the etiology of the crime phenomenon in crime-prone areas. As a criminological proposition, this research is also linked to the subject of architecture with an interdisciplinary approach and explains the need to find the spatial-spatial roots of crime in cities.
Method: The present study is of a survey type and is applied in terms of purpose. The statistical population consists of the Babylon city police force; including all senior officers, non-commissioned officers, non-commissioned officers and employees, numbering 367 in 1402. In accordance with the Cochran formula, 187 people were estimated as a statistical sample and were selected using a random sampling method from 4 police stations and 7 police stations in Babylon city, 18 people from each police station and 17 people from each police station to answer the questionnaire. The research tool was a questionnaire developed by the researcher and the Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S) test was used to examine the normality of the research variables. Since the research variables did not follow a normal distribution, the nonparametric one-tailed chi-square and Friedman tests were used to verify the study hypotheses.
Findings: The results of the chi-square test showed that from the perspective of the studied sample, the physical and spatial characteristics of crime-prone areas in Babol and the crime prevention and treatment (CPTED) strategies had an impact on the probability of crime occurrence and prevention in these areas at a confidence level of 0.95, and this finding can be generalized to the statistical population (P<0.05).
Results: Crime prevention and treatment (CPTED) strategies play a role in reducing crime and social deviations in these areas by creating safe physical and spaces in crime-prone areas.
Keywords
Crime Hotspots
Physical and Spatial Characteristics
Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED)
Police
Babol
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Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology
Volume 12, Issue 24
March 2025
Pages 189-214