Only after foreseeability is established must we determine the parameters of the duty. We summarize these foreseeability factors as similarity, proximity, recency, frequency, and publicity of previous criminal conduct. Courts must consider all the factors together. Past crimes must be sufficiently similar, though not identical, to the crime at issue to put the landowner on notice of the specific danger. For example, automobile vandalism in an apartment complex does not put the landowner on notice of the likelihood of a sexual assault.
Proximity requires evidence of other crimes on or in the property's immediate vicinity.
Evidence of criminal activity occurring farther from the landowner's property is less relevant than past criminal activity in the specific area at issue. Foreseeability also depends on the recency of past criminal conduct. A significant number of crimes occurring in a short time period on or near the property makes the crime in question more foreseeable. Publicity of prior crimes strengthens the claim that a particular crime was foreseeable because a property owner can be expected to have knowledge of such criminal activity. Landowners, however, have no duty to inspect criminal records to determine the risk of crime in the area.