An Analysis of Near Repeat Victimization Patterns across Crime Types

―An Application of Spatio-Temporal K Function―

Abstract

Recent research in the U.S., Europe, and Australia has consistently identified that the risk of victimization is temporally elevated in areas where crimes have occurred in the recent past. The phenomenon, termed near repeat victimization, has caught limited attention among criminologists in Japan, where crime rates are drastically lower than in most western countries. The present study conducted a spatio-temporal analysis of crimes using data on crimes reported to the police in order to identify near repeat victimizations across five crime types (violent offenses, purse-snatching, theft from vehicles, business burglary, and residential burglary). The results have confirmed the risk of near repeat victimization for all crime types, except for violent offenses. The paper concludes with a discussion of implications of the findings for both criminological theories and crime prevention activities by the police.