Crime and social environments: Differences between misdemeanors and felonies

TL;DR

This study analyzes how different social and environmental factors uniquely influence misdemeanors and felonies, highlighting the need for tailored crime prevention strategies based on crime type.

Contribution

It identifies distinct correlates for misdemeanors and felonies using state-level data, emphasizing different approaches for crime prevention.

Findings

Misdemeanor rates are strongly linked to police precincts.

Felony rates are highly correlated with gun possession and happiness.

Different social factors influence misdemeanors and felonies.

Abstract

Owing to the growing population density of urban areas, many people are being increasingly exposed to criminal activity. Increasing crime rates raise the risk of both physical and psychological injury to law-abiding citizens, creating anxiety. From the viewpoint of complex systems, crime prevention through data science can be a solution to such issues. However, previous studies have focused only on a single aspect of crime, ignoring the complex interplay between the various characteristics, which must be considered in an analysis to understand the dynamics underlying criminal activities. In this study, we examined 12 features that have been identified as correlates of crime rates using state-level statistics from the USA. We found that the correlates of misdemeanors and felonies differ. The number of misdemeanors is strongly associated with the police precinct, whereas felony rates are strongly correlated with gun possession and happiness. Our findings suggest that the countermeasures for misdemeanors should be treated differently from those for felonies.