Geographies of Urban Crime in Nashville, Tennessee, Portland, Oregon, and Tucson, Arizona, 1998-2002 (ICPSR 4547)
Version Date: Aug 31, 2006 View help for published
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s)
Meagan Elizabeth Cahill, University of Arizona
https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR04547.v1
Version V1
Summary View help for Summary
This research involved the exploration of how the geographies of different crimes intersect with the geographies of social, economic, and demographic characteristics in Nashville, Tennessee, Portland, Oregon, and Tucson, Arizona. Violent crime data were collected from all three cities for the years 1998 through 2002. The data were geo-coded and then aggregated to block groups and census tracts. The data include variables on 28 different crimes, numerous demographic variables taken from the 2000 Census, and several land use variables.
Citation View help for Citation
Export Citation:
Funding View help for Funding
Subject Terms View help for Subject Terms
Geographic Coverage View help for Geographic Coverage
Smallest Geographic Unit View help for Smallest Geographic Unit
latitude and longitude
Distributor(s) View help for Distributor(s)
Time Period(s) View help for Time Period(s)
Date of Collection View help for Date of Collection
Data Collection Notes View help for Data Collection Notes
-
The files are provided in a WinZip archive with 43 files in three folders. The Geographical Data folder provides provides the Nashville, Portland, and Tucson data in geographic files for use with mapping software. The Statistical Data folder provides the Nashville, Portland, and Tucson data in SPSS for Windows 14.0 system files. The Report Files folder contains the final report and a data dictionary for use with the SPSS for Windows 14.0 system files.
Study Purpose View help for Study Purpose
The purpose of the study was to explore how the geographies of different crimes intersect with the geographies of social, economic, and demographic characteristics in urban places and to develop an understanding of the implications of specific contexts of crime and the spatial relationships between those contexts.
Study Design View help for Study Design
This research examined violent crime data collected from the Metro Nashville Police Department, the Portland Police Bureau, and the Tucson and South Tucson Police Departments for the years 1998 through 2002. The location and date of each crime was collected, and the data were geo-coded and aggregated to block groups and census tracts. Frequencies of crime for each category were averaged over the five years in the study period to control for anomalous years when there may have been an unexplained spike or fall in crime. Rates were then calculated using the population figures taken from 2000 Census data. Land use data for each city were obtained from the Metro Nashville government, the Portland Metro government, and the Pima County (AZ) Department of Transportation.
Sample View help for Sample
Data are included for 445 block groups and 143 census tracts in Nashville, 457 block groups and 160 census tracts in Portland, and 427 block groups and 126 census tracts in Tucson
Universe View help for Universe
All crimes committed in Nashville, Tennessee, Portland, Oregon, and Tucson, Arizona, between 1998 and 2002.
Unit(s) of Observation View help for Unit(s) of Observation
Data Source View help for Data Source
The crime data were collected from the records of the Metro Nashville Police Department, the Portland Police Bureau, and the Tucson and South Tucson Police Departments. Demographic information for Nashville, Portland, and Tucson were collected from 2000 Census data. Land use data for each city were collected from the Metro Nashville government, the Portland Metro government, and the Pima County Department of Transportation.
Data Type(s) View help for Data Type(s)
Mode of Data Collection View help for Mode of Data Collection
Description of Variables View help for Description of Variables
These data contain 28 crime variables including: homicide, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, other assaults, stolen property, criminal damage, weapons, commercialized sex, sex offenses, narcotic drug laws, offenses against family and children, driving under the influence (DUI), liquor law, disorderly, and juvenile violations. Several demographic variables are included, such as median family income, percent of families with one parent and children under 18, percent of the population over 25 with a college degree, percent of the population living below the poverty level, percent of population unemployed, percent of the population who are African American, percent of the population who are Latino, percent of the population under age 18, and percent of households with five or more members. The data also include land use variables such as the percent of land in commercial uses, the percent of land in high intensity multifamily housing, and the percent of land in multiple land uses.
Response Rates View help for Response Rates
Not applicable
Presence of Common Scales View help for Presence of Common Scales
none
HideOriginal Release Date View help for Original Release Date
2006-08-31
Version History View help for Version History
- Cahill, Meagan Elizabeth. Geographies of Urban Crime in Nashville, Tennessee, Portland, Oregon, and Tucson, Arizona, 1998-2002. ICPSR04547-v1. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2006-08-31. http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR04547.v1
Notes
The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.
This dataset is maintained and distributed by the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD), the criminal justice archive within ICPSR. NACJD is primarily sponsored by three agencies within the U.S. Department of Justice: the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.