Offenses around Stadiums

• Published date: 01 February 2014
• DOI: 10.1177/0022427812471349
• Date: 01 February 2014
• Author: Shane D. Johnson,Nick Tilley,Justin Kurland
• Subject Matter: Articles

Article

Offenses around

Stadiums: A Natural

Experiment on

Crime Attraction

and Generation

Justin Kurland

1

, Shane D. Johnson

1

, and Nick Tilley

1

Abstract

Objectives: Inspired by ecological theories of crime, the aim of this study was

to make use of a natural experiment to see if a U.K. soccer stadium gener-

ates or attracts crime in the area that surrounds it. Method: Data for theft

and violent crime around Wembley stadium are analyzed to see if the rate

(per-unit time and ambient population) of crime differ for days on which the

stadium is used and those it is not. In addition, differences in the spatial and

temporal distribution of crime are examined for these two types of days.

Results: Analyses indicate that on days when the stadium is used, the rate

of crime per-unit time is elevated, but that the rate per ambient population

at risk is not. The spatial and temporal pattern of crime also clearly differs

for the two types of days. For example, the level of crime is elevated in the

surrounding area when the stadium is used relative to when it is not. Con-

clusions. The case study suggests that the facility studied contributes to lev-

els of crime in the area that surrounds it. The research provides further

1

UCL Department of Security and Crime Science, London, United Kingdom

Corresponding Author:

Justin Kurland, UCL Department of Security and Crime Science, 35 Tavistock Square, London

WC1H 9EZ, United Kingdom.

Email: uctzjku@live.ucl.ac.uk

Journal of Research in Crime and

Delinquency

2014, Vol 51(1) 5-28

ªThe Author(s) 2013

Reprints and permission:

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DOI: 10.1177/0022427812471349

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support for ecological theories of crime and their utility in informing

criminological understanding and policy-related questions.

Keywords

measurement, crime, policy crime, criminological theory, routine activity

theory, criminological theory, quantitative research, research methods

Introduction

Soccer has been associated with crime and disorder since the Middle Ages

(Elias and Dunning 1971). There have been diverse attempts at explanation

and prevention, which go back just as far. There has, though, been little

empirical research to determine whether explanations are adequate or

whether preventive measures have been effective (De Vreese 2000; Lo¨sel

and Bliesener 2003). The problems persist (Frosdick and Marsh 2005) and

anecdotal evidence (Home Office 2004-2009) suggests that crime and dis-

order associated with the games extend outside the stadiums. In this article,

we adopt an ecological approach to explanation and present empirical

analyses regarding patterns of crime for the largest stadium in Wembley,

United Kingdom.

Ecological approaches to crime focus on patterns in space and time.

They locate their genesis in attributes of the social and physical environ-

ment in which offending takes place rather than the psychology of offenders

(Brantingham and Brantingham 1984; Clarke and Cornish 1985). More-

over, the immediate environment is itself seen to be nested in a wider set-

ting, giving rise to the immediate situation. Two related theories suggest the

main constituents of the social and physical environment for soccer-related

crime and disorder. According to the first, ‘‘routine activity theory,’’ crimes

occur when a ‘‘likely offender’’ encounters a ‘‘suitable target’’ in the

absence of a ‘‘capable guardian,’’ an ‘‘intimate handler,’’ or ‘‘place man-

ager’’ who might otherwise restrain the offender (Eck 1994; Felson 1986;

Felson and Cohen 1980). Crime patterns across space and time are deemed

a function of the supply, distribution, and movement of these five types

of actor.

The second, ‘‘crime pattern theory,’’ explains offense patterns in terms

of the awareness and activity dynamics of those committing crimes (Bran-

tingham and Brantingham 1993a). Offenders, like everyone else, are famil-

iar with some places but not others. They tend to commit crime in places

they know to provide potential targets but where they are unlikely to be

6Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 51(1)