Assessing the spatial relationship between recorded crime and its perception : a case study of Kawempe II Parish Kampala District

Abstract

Many studies have suggested a link between recorded crime and perception towards crime but few studies have been undertaken on the relationship that exists between recorded crime and its perception. The main goal of this study was to assess the spatial relationship between recorded crime and attitudes of people towards crime. This research involved the determination of crime hotspots in the study area using recorded crime data, assessing the perception of people towards crime, and evaluating the spatial relationship between recorded crime and perception of people towards crime. This was achieved through the collection of recorded crime data from Kawempe Katale police station and also conducted a 599-community survey to understand the perception of people towards crime. The survey included a questionnaire where the public was asked to indicate the places, they felt unsafe and other questions aimed at collecting their attitudes towards crime. ArcGIS, Crimestat and Geoda were used for the analysis of data. Regression analysis was also used in evaluating the spatial relationship between recorded crime and the perception of people towards crime. From the findings, there exists a positive spatial relationship or correlation between recorded crime and perception of people towards crime that is to say the areas that were reported as crime hotspots were also perceived as crime-prone areas by the public. The implication of this study is that law enforcing agents for example police are able to reduce crime in areas where crime is not reported but perceptions of people towards crime are known thus reducing the gap between under-reported crimes and reported crimes and this also helps in planning for appropriate strategies that can be used to reduce crime.