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Sherman and Eck (2002) state that the value of policing focused on risk factors is the most powerful conclusion reached from three decades of research. There has been no practical way, however, to assess victimization risks of moving targets, such as elementary school children on their way to and from school or during leisure time activities.This study proposes ways of assessing victimization risks of elementary school children in their routine activities, with a combined use of such diverse measures as official records of actual and attempted victimization, self-report victimization surveys, and "probe person" surveys using light-weight GPS loggers. It draws on Cohen and Felson's (1979) routine activity theory and Brantingham and Brantingham's (1993) crime pattern theory, and extends our discussions and analyses presented at the 2008 ASC annual meeting. Newly obtained data with improved measures and devices are integrated with GIS and their spacio-temporal relationships are examined. Findings are discussed with regard to theoretical and practical implications. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Japan, public concern for child safety is increasing rapidly, and "neighborhood watch" programs for school-age children are widely implemented nowadays. This study aimed to identify a relationship between outdoor activities of small children and neighborhood activities of adults based on the analysis of GPS data. We conducted a monitoring study of activities of 28 elementary school students for two weeks by using GPS data loggers. At the same time, we also monitored adult's "neighborhood watch" activities that were implemented by 28 parents and 5 voluntary groups in a school district. The analysis of GPS data indicated that the spatial patterns of children's activities varied considerably across time. In particular, the GPS data of children's after school behavior indicated that the spatial concentration of children's activities shifted from roads to/from school to playgrounds as time passes. It was also found that, although the existing "neighborhood watch" activities tended to focus on roads from school, the activities did not fully cover children's playgrounds such as parks and wooded areas. Finally, we discussed the future direction of "neighborhood watch" activities in outdoor public spaces. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An agent based simulation model combined with geographic information systems (GIS) has recently become a popular tool in spatial analyses of crime. In particular, the approach has proven its strength in theory testing by changing various conditions of theoretical propositions in an experimental fashion. Moreover, past studies have created sophisticated simulation models by using actual data on road networks and neighborhood characteristics. These studies have rarely investigated if the movement of agents in simulation models corresponds to the real world data, however.Using data on the movement of elementary school-age children after school and their crime victimization locations collected by a survey with maps (N=2394), this study first examines the utility of simulation models in replicating the real data on the movement of children across the actual road networks. Furthermore, this study examines the spatial and temporal distribution of children under vulnerable conditions such as walking alone near past crime incident locations. Finally, while the past studies have emphasized the utility of simulation models as a means for theory testing, this study further extends the simulation models as a communicative tool for volunteer crime prevention activists in order to implement effective patrol programs. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, Japanese society has been facing an urgent need of preventing crimes against children. The objective of the present study is to clarify the reality of parent's personal network, social support, access to information on anticrime measures, their routine practices of accompanying children empirically and to consider measures for safety. To address these issues more thoroughly, the authors conducted a self-report social survey which asked elementary-age children (6-12 years old) about their experiences and locations of victimization, their routine home range, parents' fear and risk perception of crime, their personal network, social support, indirect victimization, access to information on anticrime measures and their routine practices of accompanying children. Structural equation modeling was applied to this dataset by the authors. The main results are as follows: 1) Access to information on anticrime measures and their routine practices of accompanying children are substantially affected by social support; and social support mediate some of the effects on access to information on anticrime measures and their routine practices of accompanying children of cultural background. 2) Access to information on anticrime measures and their routine practices of accompanying children are affected by perceived incivility. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the necessity of community and urban planning aiming at preventing crimes against children is increasing rapidly in Japan. However, there is little empirical evidence that is used as the basis of concrete measures for child safety. This study aimed to identify actual conditions of living activities and crime victimizations of children through questionnaire survey that had been conducted in Kobe city, Hyogo prefecture in Japan. As a result of investigation for 2396 children and 1875 parents, the followings were indentified. a) Children were walking alone about a quarter of distances of children's whole walk actions, and they tended to walk in specific hours and areas. b) Crime victimizations of children were concentrated on the specific hours and areas. c) The hours and areas were not always covered by existing programs for child safety. These results suggested that it is necessary to consider characteristics of child activities in order to improve child safety effectively. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cohen and Felson's (1979) routine activity theory states that predatory crime occurs when a likely offender and suitable target come together in time and space, without a capable guardian present. Empirical examination of the theory has tended to be based on macro-level, aggregated data, and therefore has been unable to address the issue of the encounter "in time and space" of the three elements of crime victimization.This study aims at addressing the "time and space" aspect of the theory in a direct way, by measuring the routine activities of elementary school children (potential crime targets) and local crime prevention volunteers (potentially capable guardians) at a micro level. It makes use of light-weight GPS loggers carried by both children and volunteers for two weeks and examines the track-logs with GIS. Based on these track-logs, "nodes" and "paths" of their everyday activities are estimated. Findings are discussed with regard to theoretical and practical implications. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, Japanese society has been facing an urgent need for preventing crimes against children. In Japan, most of the elementary-age children commute to school on foot and they are vulnerable to crime because of their immature sense of judgment and less power of resistance to the attack of offenders. However, several issues remain unsolved. First, spatial distribution of victimization and their home range still remain uncertain. Second, what are possible determinants of victimization and parents' fear of crime is not well understood. In 2006, we conducted a self-report victimization survey which asked elementary-age children (6-12 years old) about their experiences and locations of victimization, their routine home range, parents' fear and risk perception of crime, and social and psychological correlates of victimization. In the present study we report the results of analysis of the survey. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Offenses known to the police in Japanese urban areas were mapped using GIS and their geographic distributions were examined in terms of long-term trends by types of offense. The results will be discussed with special reference to their implications to crime prevention policies and practices ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, Japanese society has been facing an urgent need for preventing crimes against children. In Japan, most of the elementary-age children commute to school on foot and they are vulnerable to crime because of their immature sense of judgment and less power of resistance to the attack of offenders. However, several issues remain unsolved. First, spatial distribution of victimization and their home range still remain uncertain. Second, what are possible determinants of victimization and parents' fear of crime is not well understood. In 2006, we conducted a self-report victimization survey which asks elementary-age children (6-12 years old) about their experiences and locations of victimization, their routine home range, parents' fear and risk perception of crime, and social and psychological correlates of victimization. In the present study we report the results of analysis of the survey. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, Japanese society has been facing an urgent need for preventing crime committed against children. Although relatively little attention has been paid to children's crime victimization outside home or schools compared with much attention paid to domestic child abuse or school bullying, not a few of crimes targeting children take place on the way of children's trip to or from school, in park playgrounds, and on the premises of condominium buildings. In Japan, most of the elementary-age children trip to and from school on foot and they are intensely vulnerable to crime because of their immature sense of judgment and less power of resistance to the attack of offenders. In the present study we analyze violent crimes (approximately over 300) and sexual crimes (approximately over 900) committed against elementary-age children, which are selected from the penal code offenses reported to the police for the year 1996- 2002 in a large urban area of Japan. Since the dataset of penal code offenses includes the fields of both spatial information (Where the crime took place) and temporal information (when the crime took place), the present study aims to explore spatial and temporal aspects of crime against children using the GIS (Geographic Information System). The relationship between crime victimization and children's attributes as well as the types of high-risk places is also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]