Crime analysis and police station location in Swaziland : a case study in Manzini

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Criminal activity and police station locations have an inherent geography that needs to be understood inorder for crime prevention strategies to be reasonably effective. This study analysed the spatiotemporalpattern of crime in the city of Manzini, in Swaziland, for the period of 2004 and determinedsuitable locations for future police stations.Four categories of crime were analysed. These were crimes against property, crimes against people,drug related crimes and crimes against public order. Five main analyses were performed namely:overlay analysis, proximity analysis, temporal analysis, morphological analysis, and accessibilityanalysis.The findings suggest that crimes against property are the most prevalent category of crime in Manziniwith a prevalence rate of 84.2%. This category was followed by crimes against people (11.9%), drugrelated crimes (3.5%), and crimes against public order (0.4%). Landuses associated with transportationexperienced the highest amount (22%) of crime in Manzini. There was a strong relationship betweenincidents of crime and areas with medium to high population density. The proximity analysis revealedthat the highest concentration of incidents of crime was between 50 and 100 metres from alcohol servingestablishments in Manzini. In a similar analysis, the proximity of incidents of crime toeducational institutions was concentrated between 500 and 1000 metres whereas the proximity ofincidents of crime to the Manzini police station was dominant between 250 and 500 metres. Of allrecorded incidents of crime 87% occurred during the day while 13% occurred during the night. In areasof high-crime concentration such as the bus rank and the Manzini market, it was established that thestructural layout of these areas promoted criminal activity. The accessibility analysis showed that sevenpolice stations are necessary to ensure that people do not walk more than 30 minutes to the nearestpolice station in Manzini.The study concluded that crime prevention strategies would require the intervention of both the policeand city planners to be reasonably successful. It also noted that the establishment of accessible policestations would complement the efforts of the police in their endeavour to combat crime in Manzini.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University