Working Group Members
Co-Directors:
Dr. David Weisburd
Dr. Elizabeth Groff
Dr. Brian Lawton
Coordinator:
Julie Willis
Members:
Dr. Anthony Braga
Harvard University
Dr. Gerben Bruinsma
Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law
Enforcement (NSCR) and
Leiden University
Chief Jim Bueermann
Redlands Police Department
Dr. John Eck
University of Cincinnati
Dr. Cynthia Lum
George Mason University
Dr. Jerry Ratcliffe
Temple University
Dr. George Rengert
Temple University
Dr. Nigel Waters
George Mason University
Dr. Sue-Ming Yang
Georgia State University
Picture from the first meeting
of the CPWG, August 11-12,
2008 in D.C.
703-993-4901
PLACES:
An important unit of analysis
Vania Ceccato presents at the CPWG Special Session
Recent studies have shown a tremendous
concentration of crime at very small geographic units of analysis
such as street segments (often termed "hot spots"), and
research on hot spots policing suggests significant
crime prevention benefits can be gained by focusing on such places. Despite a growing scientific base, there remain gaps in our knowledge of crime and place.
Moreover, crime prevention approaches often
continue to ignore the importance of place. The CPWG works to
identify areas of significant research promise, and practical crime
prevention benefit.
Place-Based Bibliography
The Center maintains a freely available, comprehensive reference list of all literature related to the criminology of places. To offer citations to add, please contact Julie Willis.
CURRENT PROJECTS
Exploring
Developmental Patterns of Crime at Place (David Weisburd, Elizabeth Groff and Sue-Ming Yang)
What factors contribute to
variations of crime patterns across micro-places?
More...
The Influence
of Places on Policing - the NIJ DuBois Fellowship
(Cynthia Lum)
Do
characteristics of places, in particular their racial, ethnic,
immigrant, or language composition, influence police decision making?
More...
The Impact of Environmental
Factors on Effective Drug Treatment of Offenders
(Faye Taxman and Cynthia Lum)
How can we build a place-based
understanding to treat drug-addicted recidivists and to prevent drug
crimes in our communities?
News and Events
Julie Willis and Alese Wooditch will be presenting "Place Matters in Probation Outcomes: The Importance of Spatial Factors"
at the GMU GIS Day November 18. More information here.
We are pleased to welcome the newest member of the Crime and Place Working Group - Dr. Nigel Waters, Professor in the Department of Geography, and the Director of GMU's GIS Center of Excellence. Dr. Waters currently is engaged in projects involving GIS and transportation.
Place-Based
Resources
CPWG Special Session on Empirical Evidence on the Relevance of Place in Criminology (April 22).
Video Presentation: "The Crucial Question for Crime: Not Who Done It but Where Done It?" (David Weisburd)(Video requires Quicktime)
"Place-Based Policing"
by David Weisburd. Ideas in
American Policing Lecture (2008).
CPWG Member Jerry Ratcliffe's Homepage (resources on crime mapping and
The Institute for Canadian Urban Research Studies (ICURS) at Simon Fraser University focuses on environmental criminology
A new book edited by two CPWG members, Weisburd and
Bruinsma, has been released:
Putting Crime in its Place. Click on the book below
for its contents.
