Organizing the Security of Urban Neighborhoods with Identifiying Crime Hotspots (Case: District 4 of Rasht)

In recent years, law enforcement combated crime based on the relation between place and crime. The result shows that countries that have made this approach have more success in the fight against crime and increase the safety and well-being of their people.

This study aimed to find the focal points of crime and their distribution centers. Also, to find out the leading causes of the number of crimes in the neighborhoods according to the shape of the study area.

This research is applied and descriptive-analytical. Library and field methods were used to produce the basic map modification. In this type of research, the research model is designed based on the definition of research variables and the type of relationship between them. The model used in this research is the closest neighbor model in SPSS software, and GIS has been used to plot the scatter of crime.

Geographical Context: 

The research selected the fourth district of Rasht as the study area.

Contrary to the research hypothesis, findings showed that the crime hotspots have not spread from the city center to the periphery but were formed independently. This result is against the nearest neighbor index in spatial analysis.

Analyzes showed that some suburban areas of the region, due to the particular physical structure as well as the social and economic characteristics of its inhabitants, are more inclined to crime. On the other hand, some places hinder criminal opportunities, which causes criminals to choose the least dangerous and appropriate opportunities for committing crimes.