The Relative Influence of Proximity to Fast Road Infrastructure, Accessibility, and Deprivation on Crime

Irish rural areas saw an increase in the number of burglaries in the period following the completion of a network of high speed motorway interurban routes. To test the hypothesis that the new fast infrastructure was providing quick exits by urban based criminal gangs, Irish crime statistics along with census data were combined in a logistic regression analysis to assess the relative influence of accessibility, deprivation, population, and proximity to fast road infrastructure on the number of burglaries in areas. It was found that accessibility had a higher influence on crime than area deprivation and that proximity to fast road infrastructure was not significant.
1. Introduction In relation to the association between socioeconomic status and criminal offending, the literature suggests that poverty has an effect on serious crime [1]. Relative deprivation is more important [...]