Crime Risk Evaluation in Individual's Local Community

Abstract

Our everyday lives involve navigating in the public space. If the public space is not safe it will reduce our freedom of movement and ability to participate in school, work and public life. Awareness on the level of security and danger in our public space can help us prepare and secure the area around us. But the lack of boundaries of public space makes it difficult to assess the level of safety and designing of security. The theory suggest (Creating Defensible Space by Oscar Newman, 1976) that the more personal and individualize the space we have, the more control and influence we have of defending it. Based on this theory, we are proposing a new sociological term called "Individual's Local Community (ILC)", which addresses on the unique environment of each individual navigating the public space. ILC is designed as the smallest measurable unit crossover local communities. ILC will personalize each individual's navigation to the public space. To measure the level of danger and safety in ILC we developed an android-based mobile application that estimate the risk of being victimize of crime in specified space and time-period. To extend the concept, one resident's risk to become victim or perpetrators of crime incidents is evaluated by estimated values based on "stable" ILC and historical crime records. The evaluation system is developed as a mobile app, named as "Are You Safe". The application contains local crime maps and a GPS tracking component. Mathematical formulas are developed to evaluate the potential risk. Furthermore, a re-routing function is provided for "safer" ILC. The prototype of "Are You Safe" app is implemented and tested in the city of northwestern Pennsylvania, United States. We believe the ILC concept will enrich the study of Personal Big Data and enable us to study social science in a different level. Also the app will help residents to have a better understanding on the safety and security of their environment.