Highway (of) crimes

It is often believed that modern crime has a dependent relationship with transportation corridors. The media has diligently covered occurrences like motorway sniper attacks, commercial truck hijackings on interstates, and carjackings of the drivers and passengers. The American public is continually being warned about dangers on and around highways, whether they are driving, stopped at a rest stop, or in an unintentional encounter with other twitchy, irritated drivers. Many individuals are shaking their heads in disbelief at what they believe to be the present entry and intensification of crime into what they once regarded to be safe streets, and the pleas for vigilance and prudence while driving appear to come at an opportune time.

Types of crimes on highways

• The Irish Crime Classification System (ICCS) defines a burglary as the unlawful entry of a building or a portion of a building, either with the intent to conduct an offense or having already committed one. Burglaries are one of the most common forms of crimes in Ireland. The ratio of the total number of crimes committed in a Sub District to its population is employed as the dependent variable to account for variation in Sub District size (expressed per 10,000 persons). Only 2011’s population statistics for Sub Districts are available, but Section 7.5 demonstrates that the major findings hold even when using population data derived from statistics on population increase in Ireland’s eight Regional Authority districts.

• In the same year that a freeway is built within 30 km, the burglary rate in the average Sub District increases by 10%, or five burglaries. Although a greater impact would be anticipated, the outcome is obvious because it is likely that criminals trying to avoid capture by the authorities will scatter the scene of their crimes. Additionally, it is discovered that the increase in burglaries is only temporary because they peak in the year of the motorway link and then level out. A strange outcome of road expansions is the quick reaction of robbers. One explanation is that because highway-related thefts have not yet occurred and police surveillance hasn’t been instituted, the likelihood of being apprehended by the police is minimal in locations that have recently been connected to the road network.
• The most recent crime that is frequently reported by drivers is this one. The gangs employ fear to stop cars so they can be looted. During such occurrences, a pedestrian crossing the street will cover the car’s grille in oil in a covert manner. A few miles later, a group of motorbike riders will inform you that the car is frequently spilling oil.The squad takes off with all the belongings from the car once you stop to check it. When the car gets snarled in traffic, the oil spilling move can also be performed by the pillion passenger.
• Two things cause this. Somebody will attempt to cross the street while you’re delayed in traffic or in a car that is going very slowly, and they’ll behave as though you hit them. The second method involves a gang member who appears enraged, repeatedly breaking the car’s glass while criticizing the driver for running into an individual on the road. Any phones you have left on the passenger seat could be taken by the gang member as soon as you open the window. They might even assault the person and take their goods if the operator offers to drop them off to the closest hospital.
• Two women once targeted a car that was stopped at a red light. While another woman entered the vehicle, one of them continued to make eye contact with the driver. The woman urged the person to visit a remote location. The woman hugged the driver and got out of the car when he did not move. Later, the individual discovered that his gold neck chain was missing. According to numerous reports, the group of ladies have kidnapped wallets and cell phones from drivers of moving vehicles. Typically, the gang preyed on unmarried men.

Why do these crimes take place?

Based on the assumption that criminals are interested in maximizing profit and avoiding capture, economic analyses of criminal behavior are conducted. Becker’s (1968) ground-breaking work, which Ehrlich later expanded upon, is where the economic incentives for crime originate (1973). According to this theory of rational decision-making, a person chooses to commit an offense if the projected gains outweigh the risks. In other words, logical people consider the potential financial gain from wrongdoing, the probability of being apprehended and found guilty, the severity of the sentence, and the money they may earn from alternative legal employment. Although there is little research on it, the model has primarily been used to analyse property crimes (Grogger, 2000).

Crime location choice

Becker’s theory of crime focuses more on the reasons for criminal behaviour and less on the locations of those crimes, while both may be understood through a rational decision-making process that considers the local environment (Clarke & Cornish, 1985; Deutsch & Epstein, 1998; Deustch et al., 1987). According to criminology research, the choice of where to commit the crime is the result of a multi-stage selection process in which the criminal aims to make the most money with the least amount of work while weighing the costs and advantages of each potential place (Bernasco & Nieuwbeerta, 2005; Brantingham & Brantingham, 1984). The elements that determine where a crime occurs vary depending on the sort of crime, but typically, property criminals will consider the transportation system and street layout because it will affect how easily they can move to, from, and between targets. Offenders may also take into account the relative wealth of a community and how the chances of getting apprehended by police vary from place to place.

First, criminals only have so much time, and second, they prefer to blend in with the locals in the target places (Ratcliffe, 2006). The number of crimes declines with increasing distance from the offender’s residence, according to the distance-decay effect, which has been caused by this. The criminal is able to balance the advantages of higher priced stolen goods with the disadvantages of longer excursions, both in terms of time and transportation costs, using a rational choice framework. Consequently, it may be more advantageous for the offender to travel farther (Vandeviver et al., 2015). Highways connect distant sites at the lowest cost since they have high speed limits and no traffic barriers. So shortening the time the criminal is traveling with the stolen goods and enabling a speedy getaway. Van Daele and Beken (2011) go on to say that mobile property burglars make up for greater distances by not only selecting wealthy neighborhoods and using quick transit, but also perhaps committing multiple offenses in a short period of time.

In conclusion, thieves like some locations for committing crimes over others, and this choice is a fine line between the advantages and disadvantages of various locales. This study focuses on how crime is distributed geographically across a nation based on its closeness to motorway networks. The road is a potential avenue for a burglar to do this over long distances as they strive to maximize return on their crimes and minimize losses and effort.

History of Road/HIghway Crimes

By 1285, bandits and highwaymen were preying disturbingly frequently on common highways in

Britain, which led King Edward I of England to create a decree known as the Statute of

Winchester. In addition to restoring local control over law enforcement, it also required an early crime prevention strategy along the public routes. “Hayways leading from one market town to another shall be extended where bushes, woodlands, or dykes are, so that there be no dyke or shrub whereby a man may conceal to do harm within two hundred feet of the one side and two hundred feet of the other side of the path,” was the cry of the order.The plan was to prevent these bandits from hiding. One starts to realize how serious the issue was regarded to be when one considers the absence of heavy machinery available now to carry out such clear cutting. The risks of travel persisted, and it is uncertain whether this clause was ever actively enforced (Vernon, 2002).

The famous The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer (written around 1385) depicts a group of wayfarers who travel together to religious locations for the sake of friendship and safety. The authorities and the general people continued to pay attention to be bemused by the success of highway robbery. In the early 1900s, Alfred Noyes’ poem of the same name idealized and even immortalized the profession of the highwayman. Whatever one may think of the poetry, it is important to keep in mind that Noyes’ protagonist was “seeking a prize this night,” which prevented him from staying with Bess, the landlord’s daughter. In other words, he was heading out to rob and assault someone who was on the road.

Problems with land transportation were not unique to it. Pirates, whether independent or supported by the government, frequented the sea lanes and disrupted international shipping plans. Indonesia continues to struggle with a modernized kind of piracy.

The American frontier era also saw its share of criminality along any routes that transported commodities and people. The determined assault of crooks who made their livings and became legendary via daring hold-ups caused harm to stagecoaches and the railroad.

These are only a few historical instances that are now available, but they clearly show that there seems to be a trend.

The innovation of travel brought about by contemporary technology and the accessibility of transportation gave more people than any time before the chance to roam around. The growth of vehicles owned by individuals required the construction of ever-larger highway networks to accommodate them. Airlines, ships, buses, trains, and automobiles all determine the best routes to take, expanding the areas where crime can spread.

Data

Crime rate data is mapped per county per year (over a period of 24 years), with gold denoting areas with the lowest rates (less than 1,850 incidents per 100,000 people annually), bold blue denoting areas with medium rates (1,850 to 3,486 incidents per 100,000 people annually), and brightest red denoting counties with the highest rates (more than 3,486 incidents per 100,000 people annually) (greater than 3,486 per 100,000 people annually)The static ArcView map plots are fascinating, but they fall short when it comes to showing how crime has changed over time. It might be time-consuming and exhausting for the reader to have to compare and retain information from one map to the next. Data effect is frequently overlooked. The issue is resolved by including Ulead animation.

The audience is made acutely aware of the movement of crime from location to site by seeing the animated Figure 1 illustrating the variations in crime patterns from year to year. The flowing motion of crime is undeniably seen in animation.

In Conclusion

The fast response of burglars to motorway extension is a surprising finding, and one explanation is that criminals take advantage of the fact that the police may not have had enough time to strengthen policing in places where the likelihood of being apprehended by them is lowest.The findings point to the necessity for policymakers to include local crime externalities in any cost-benefit analysis of upcoming improvements to road infrastructure. The main conclusion is resistant to numerous comprehensive checks: no other investigated crime category shares the causal association with motorways, postponed motorway junctions provide no statistically significant influence on crime, and correcting for local economic activity is not upsetting the main result. As a result, the measure of motorway connections may be securely regarded as exogenous. The large stolen goods need to be carried from the property as rapidly as possible to prevent being discovered, so conceptually, the effect’s uniqueness on the burglary rate makes sense.

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