U.S. flag
      An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.
        Here's how you know
      Here's how you know**Official websites use .gov**
            
            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
      **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
            
            A **lock** (
            A locked padlock
            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Menu

      
        close

            
            
                                              About NIJ
        
                    
  
          About NIJ
      
    
          The NIJ Director
          How NIJ Is Organized
          Mission and Guiding Principles
          Research and Development Process
          Strategic Framework
          Assessments of NIJ
          Annual Reports & Reports to Congress
          Staff Directory
          Funding & Awards
        
                    
  
          Funding & Awards
      
    
          Current Funding
          Forthcoming Funding
          Expired Funding
          Awards: Listing of Funded Projects
          Guidance for Applicants and Awardees
          Fellowship & Student Programs
          Travel Scholarships
          NIJ Challenge Program
          Library & Multimedia
        
                    
  
          Library & Multimedia
      
    
          NIJ Journal
          Podcasts
          Publications Listing
          Multimedia Listing
          Rated Practices on CrimeSolutions
          Rated Programs on CrimeSolutions
          Software & Databases
          Datasets
          Patents
          Topics
        
                    
  
          Topics
      
    
          Article Listing
          Corrections
          Courts
          Crime Prevention
          Crimes
          Drugs and Crime
          Equipment and Technology
          Forensic Sciences
          Youth Justice
          Justice System Reform
          Law Enforcement
          Tribal Crime and Justice
          Victims of Crime
          Events
        
                    
  
          Events
      
    
          NIJ 2024 Research Conference
          Scheduled Events
          On-Demand Events
          Research Meetings & Workshops
          NIJ-Hosted Online Training

                            
                                About
          Contact Us
          Subscribe
          Topics A-Z
                  Share
FacebookXLinkedInRedditPinterestEmail Home
                            Funding & Awards
 Modeling the Dynamics of Street Robberies to Inform Policy and Prevention
Award Information
Awardee
              Institute for Law and Justice
Award #
              2005-IJ-CX-0015
Funding Category
              Competitive
Location
                    Alexandria, VA
Congressional District
              8
Status
              Closed
Funding First Awarded
              2005
Total funding (to date)
              $141,163
Original Solicitation
              Solicitation for Crime and Justice Research, FY05
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2005, $141,163)
Achieving a better understanding of the crime event in its context remains an important research area in criminology that has major implications for making better policy and developing effective crime prevention strategies. Agent-based models offer the ability to do just that. An agent-based simulation implemented in the framework of a computational laboratory offers the following advantages. First, agent-based models allow heterogeneity among individuals that more closely approximates the variety found in life. Second, the agents and the landscape can be held constant or systematically varied in order to provide a level of control impossible to attain using traditional social science methods. Third, the combination of heterogeneous agents and control enables the researcher to conduct a variety of experiments using different conditions or applying various prevention scenarios and then to evaluate outcomes for minimal cost compared to experiments in the real world.
This proposal addresses the issues encountered in earlier studies by designing and implementing an agent-based model for exploring the contextual aspects of individual crime events and how they culminate in emerging crime patterns. The initial research focuses on street robbery for three reasons. First, it is an instrumental crime and thus is more likely than expressive crimes to involve a decision process. Second, street robbery is more likely to occur on the street or some other exposed area than in a residence or business and thus involves the public intersection of offender and target in space and time. Third, robbery elicits a high level of fear among residents because of its unexpectedness and potential for serious injury. The model is informed by several of the opportunity theories in criminology and two geographical theories. Opportunity theories include routine activity theory, rational choice theory and environmental criminology. From geography we incorporate research on activity spaces.
The research specifically addresses the solicitation goal for Law Enforcement/Policing by creating a model to inform more effective strategies for law enforcement. In addition, the model examines the goal of Crime Prevention/Causes of Crime by offering: (1) a method for identifying situational characteristics that create the potential for crime to occur; and (2) the ability to test the impact of policy changes on crime rates. The situational elements of the convergence of offender and victim at a specific place and time can be simulated via agent-based modeling software. As the initial foray into this area, this study focuses on the development of a computational laboratory for modeling some simple, dynamic interactions between individuals from which aggregate crime rates and patterns of crime emerge. Once this model is built, it can be extended to serve as a laboratory for testing other facets of criminological theory and police practice at the micro level. In this first model, there is no attempt to incorporate the motivations behind either criminality or guardianship. More complex issues such as those will be addressed in later studies using the basic framework developed here. The results of this and subsequent experiments will inform crime prevention strategies and contribute to the body of knowledge in both environmental criminology and situational crime prevention.



  
Grant-Funded Publications
        
                      Adding the Temporal and Spatial Aspects of Routine Activities: A Further Test of Routine Activity Theory
                  Simulation for Theory Testing and Experimentation: An Example Using Routine Activity Theory and Street Robbery
                  'Situating’ Simulation to Model Human Spatio-Temporal Interactions: An Example Using Crime Events
                  Exploring the geography of routine activity theory: a spatio-temporal test using street robbery

  
Date Created: April 25, 2005
    
          Side navigation
  

        

  
  
              Current Funding
    
      
            
            
            
      Forthcoming Funding
    
      
            
            
            
      Expired Funding
    
      
            
            
            
      Awards: Listing of Funded Projects
    
      
            
            
            
      Guidance for Applicants and Awardees
    
      
            
            
            
      Fellowship & Student Programs
    
      
            
            
            
      Travel Scholarships
    
      
            
            
            
      NIJ Challenge ProgramSimilar Awards
        
                      Procedural Justice in Jails
                  Can Law Enforcement Training Address Racial and Ethnic Disproportionality? An Experimental Evaluation of Effective Youth Interactions
                  An Examination of the Law Enforcement Role in Implementing Extreme Risk Protection Orders
 Top

      National Institute of Justice

        
        
                        About NIJ
                    About NIJ
      
    
                  How NIJ Is Organized
      
    
                  NIJ Director
      
    
                  Research Disclaimer
      
    
                  Funding & Awards
                    Funding & Awards Home
      
    
                  Awards Listing
      
    
                  Current Funding
      
    
                  Guidance for Applicants and Awardees
      
    
                  Resources
                    Events
      
    
                  Podcasts
      
    
                  Publications
      
    
                  Topics
      
    
                  Multimedia
      
    
                  Reuse Policy
      
    
                  Contacts
                    Contact NIJ
      
    
                  Staff Directory
      
    
                  Submit a FOIA Request
      
    
                  File a Civil Rights ComplaintFacebook
          
                      X
          
                      YouTube
  

      810 7th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20531
      
              Secondary Footer link menu
            Accessibility
              Plain Language
              Privacy Policy
              Legal Policies and Disclaimer
              No FEAR Act
              Freedom of Information Act
              USA.gov
              Justice.gov