Crime pattern at the outskirts of the city : a case of Pune city

Abstract

From the historical period, crime has been an integral part of society. In the late nineteenth century, A. M. Guerry and Adolphe Quatelet along with other researchers linked the crime with spatial characteristics. These spatial parameters include the change in population composition, economic conditions, occupation pattern, housing condition, population and structural density. UNHABITAT report 2007, Enhancing Urban Safety and Security: Global report on human settlements states that the rapid pace of urbanization integrated with the growth of the city and population density is linked with the increased rate of crime and violence. The United Nations survey on Crime victim also states that urbanization is the strongest factor for crime and victimization. Many researchers identified the primary reason behind the change in the location of crimes is the shift in the nature of the landscape from rural to urban area. From the early twenty-first century, India is undergoing rapid and profound urbanization. The unplanned expansion of the urban area outlines its environment into an undesirable way that put citizens and property at risk and increases the vulnerability to crime. Also, affect the livability and quality of life of the residents of the respective neighborhood. According to the routine activity theory, the urban fabric and its layout are responsible for the movement of the offender and the victim. The primary focus of this research is to identify the relationship between crime pattern and social, economic and spatial characteristics of the neighborhood. As per the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) crime rate in India is continuously increasing at an annual rate of 3.8%. Every year Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh grab the position in the list of top five states having highest crime rate. Maharashtra is the progressive state and its 45.23% population resides in the urban area. The occurrence of crimes like murders, theft, robbery, housebreaking and rape etc. is high in urban areas. Pune is ranked at 2nd position in terms of crime rate after Nagpur. But the urbanization rate of Pune is high and almost accommodates 11% of the states urbanized population. The annual growth rate of crime incidents is approximately 5.7%. The incidence of crimes like vehicle crime, robbery, kidnapping and rape are more at the outskirts of the city. Data was collected from each police station for crime over the period of 2001- 2019. Firstly, the incidents of the crime at core and periphery areas are compared to identify the micro zones for the study. The Hotspots analysis for the various crime in the city is conducted by using GIS software. An Ordinary Least Squares regression model is applied to analyze the correlation between crime and spatial characteristics. The expected outcome of the research is to prepare strategies and policies to reduce the occurrence of the crime in the study area which leads to improving the livability and safety in the neighborhood. Keywords: Peri-urban area, crime, livability, urbanization