Hot Spots of Crime

This book shows that informal social controls are key to understanding and doing something about hot spots of crime.

In most cities, a relatively small number of streets produce a great deal of crime. This book tells the story of what these places are like, emphasizing that hot spots of crime are also hot spots for other social and health disadvantages.While hot spots of crime have become an important focus of study in criminology and an important focus of crime prevention in programs like hot spots policing, to date we know little about these places. Who lives in hot spots of crime? What factors lead to these places becoming crime hot spots? What other social and health problems are found in these places? The book draws on more than 7,000 surveys of people living on crime hot spot and non-hot spot streets, systematic physical and social observations, and structured qualitative data collection. The results of this study illustrate that hot spots of crime are not just hot spots for crime, but also many other social ills. By shedding light on the social features of hot spots of crime, the book recognizes the importance of informal social controls in understanding and preventing crime at crime hot spots. This title is also available as open access on Cambridge Core.