Is There a Law of Crime Concentration for Most Crime in a City? A Multi-City Study

Abstract Research continuously shows that crime concentrates in micro-geographic places, leading Weisburd (2015) to propose a law of crime concentration. Scholars testing the law find remarkable consistency across place and time. However, the present study asks an unanswered question: Can a law of crime concentration exist for most or all crime? Using data from five U.S. cities, this study examines the distribution of most and all crime by calculating the proportions of crime occurring on street segments. Results show the concentration of most and all crime is relatively consistent between cities. Between 44.8% and 59.9% of streets produced 100% of crime across the five cities, suggesting that roughly half of all streets experience no crime each year. The study also finds high concentration and tight bandwidths for crime thresholds encompassing most crime. At the same time, the results suggest variation between cities may occur because of differing street networks and landscapes.