Exploring and Mapping Patterns of Vandalism amongst Young People:

When is a problem not a problem?

Ellie BatesSchool of LawUniversity of Edinburghe.j.w.bates@sms.ed.ac.uk

William MackanessInstitute of GeographyUniversity of Edinburghwilliam.mackaness@ed.ac.uk

• Why does researching vandalism need crime maps, and why is it difficult to map?

• Some specific issues with mapping vandalism illustrated by using a longitudinal cohort study

• Categorisation – how do we define the problem?

• Visualisation – how should we visualise the problem?

• Wider implications

• For open source map makers

• For researchers

• For policy makers

Vandalism is a crime quintessentially associated with place...

To understand why vandalisms occurs where and when it does, we need to consider the relationship between crime and place....

Edinburgh City centre vandalismPhotos: E Bates, August / September 2009

place

Place really matters for all these criminology ideas

Social Disorganisation /

Collective Efficacy

Routine Activities

Situational Action Theory

Cultural Criminology

Balbi and Guerry (1829): Map of crimes against person and property in France

Specific problems for visualising a vandalism problem

• Under – reporting of the problem• Vandalism – mindless ‘received opinion’

Vandalism ‘received opinion’ 1 – ‘it’s mindless’

VandalismTypologyStanley Cohen (1973, 1984)6

acquisitivetactical

vindictive

play

malicious

conventionalvandalism

ideologicalvandalism

institutionalised rule breaking

(tolerated)

ritualisme.g. Halloween

play

protection e.g. publicschoolboys

writing off(too minor)

walling in(e.g. school,

prison)

Specific problems for visualising a vandalism problem

• Under – reporting of the problem• Vandalism – mindless ‘received opinion’• Broad categorisation (within property

crime?)• Who or what is the population at risk?

‘the denominator dilemma’ (Ratcliffe, 2010)5

Vandalism ‘received opinion’ 2 – ‘it’s kids’Prevalence (participation rate) the proportion of unit

population involved in offending behaviour - by age group7

Is Vandalism like other property crime / are graffiti and smashing/breaking vandalism the same ?

Source: Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions in Crime, Sweep 3 conducted 2000,Average age of respondent 14.

Behaviour Pearson X2 Cramers V Strength of relationship

Vandalism and Graffiti 627.933 0.383 medium Vandalism and Fire-raising 967.890 0.477 medium/strong Vandalism and Housebreaking 310.394 0.270 weak/medium Vandalism and Rowdy behaviour 703.106 0.406 medium Graffiti and Fire-raising 417.976 0.313 medium Graffiti and Housebreaking 113.860 0.163 weak Graffiti and Rowdy behaviour 838.778 0.443 medium

all values significant p<0.001, Cramers V reports a value between -1 and +1

When is a problem not a problem

SOR_Vandal_Area SOR_Graffiti_Area

R2 = 0.864

Study Area: City of EdinburghStatistical Geography:Intermediate Geography, Crown copyright reproduced by permission of HMSO

Data Source:Edinburgh Study Youth Transiations in Crime (ESYTC), Sweep 3, average of respondent 14,

N=760 N=1563

SOR_Vandal_Count SOR_Graffiti_Count

Study Area: City of EdinburghStatistical Geography:Intermediate Geography,Crown copyright reproduced by permission of HMSO

R2 = 0.343

N=760, 22% of 3470 geocoded respondents

N=1563, 45% of 3470 geocoded respondents

Data Source:Edinburgh Study Youth Transiations in Crime (ESYTC), Sweep 3, average of respondent 14,

When is a problem not a problem

(a) – Standardised by area in hectaresCartogram from Geoda 1.5 hinge

(b)- Standardised by respondent,Cartogram from Geoda 1.5 hinge

Does this provide a greater insight – SD Maps?Per hectare Per total

population

Per pop.Aged 10-19

Is an excess risk map also helpful?Per totalpopulation

Per hectare

Per pop.Aged 10-19

Excess risk map and excess risk cartogram

Per pop.Aged 10-19

Per hectare

Could this visualisation provide additional insight, or stimulate problem solving?

Conclusions 1• Density – inappropriate labelling of ‘youth’

• Perception – influenced by presence of vandalism – density important!

• Place/ time dynamics of vandalism complex – care in allocation of resources

Conclusions 2Conclusions 1• Challenge of mapping vandalism - true of any crime

• Care in interpretation - requires us to work together

• Challenges in public delivery services

Recomendations• Criminal damage / Vandalism should not yet be included in

official public crime maps;

• Further research on visualisation/ denominator issues

• Where released, caveats should be stated.

• Careful choice of standardisation / visualisation required.

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Acknowledgement