Study: Distribution of crime on the Island of Montréal

2001

Crime does not occur randomly in cities, but is associated with demographic, socio-economic and land use factors, according to a new study that analyzes the link between crime and land use in Montréal.

The report showed that criminal offences in Canada's second largest metropolitan area followed a slightly different pattern than that in other Canadian cities.

Property offences on the Island of Montréal were essentially concentrated in neighbourhoods in the city centre; however, violent crime was distributed among a number of hot spots throughout the region.

The report also indicates that the vast majority of people charged for those crimes lived on the Island of Montréal. The distances travelled to commit an offence were relatively short.

Three key factors were relevant to explain the variation of violent and property crime rates at the neighbourhood level: low income, the proportion of single people and commercial land use.

The results underline the importance of targeting the specific needs of neighbourhoods, and recognizing the diversity of Canadian cities in developing strategies for combating crime.

This analytic approach examines such questions as how police-reported crimes are distributed across city neighbourhoods, and whether the crime rate in a given neighbourhood is associated with factors specific to that neighbourhood. The factors considered include housing, land use, demographic and socio-economic characteristics. The report also presents the first descriptive analysis of charged persons' travel patterns to the location of offences in Montréal.

The report is the second prepared by the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics to examine crime data at a neighbourhood level using a combination of statistical analysis and crime mapping based on Geographic Information System (GIS) technology.

Crime not evenly dispersed across the Island

Maps produced using data from the GIS show that reported crime was not evenly dispersed across the Island of Montréal in 2001.

They show a concentration of criminal incidents in some areas of the Island, such as the city centre. However, in other areas, criminal incidents were quite rare.

Some of the areas in which there were few criminal offences, such as the land occupied by petroleum industries in the east end, are relatively inaccessible and in some cases, have controlled access.

The neighbourhoods with the highest densities of violent crime were in the city centre, Verdun, Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Montréal-Nord, Rosemount-La-Petite-Patrie and Villeray-St-Michel-Parc-Extension.

Property crimes were highly and almost exclusively concentrated in the city centre. Hot spots outside the city centre included the Island's large shopping malls and the Pierre-Elliot-Trudeau International Airport.

Crime was concentrated in a small number of neighbourhoods. In fact, about 20% of violent crime incidents reported in 2001 occurred in 7% of the Island's "census tracts", which are roughly equivalent to neighbourhoods of between 2,500 and 8,000 people. About 20% of reported property crime incidents occurred in 4% of census tracts.

Persons charged unlikely to travel far to commit an offence

Using the location of criminal incidents and the place of residence of persons charged, it is possible to calculate the distance travelled by offenders.

The study showed that the vast majority of persons charged in criminal incidents that occurred in 2001 lived on the Island of Montréal.

The distances travelled by the persons charged were relatively short, and varied with the type of offence, the age of the person charged and their relationship with the victim. Offenders came from a larger number of neighbourhoods in the case of violent incidents and were less concentrated than in the case of property crimes. Overall, persons charged with violent incidents travelled less (0.9 km) than those charged with property incidents (4 km).

The median distance travelled also varies according to the closeness of the relationship between the person charged and the victim. (The median is the point at which half are above, and half below.) Charged persons who know their victim travel little, while those who do not cover a greater distance and converge toward the city centre. The youngest offenders travelled the most in cases of violent incidents, and the least in the case of property crime.

Persons charged with assault travelled the least, about 0.4 km, while those who committed robbery travelled the greatest median distance of all persons charged with violent offences, more than 3 km. In 2001, persons charged with breaking and entering travelled the shortest distance of all persons charged with property offences, at 3.3 km, while those charged either with theft $5,000 and over or theft under $5,000 travelled 4.4 km. The longest distances travelled were for car thefts, at more than 6.5 km.

These results support British research findings indicating that most movements by offenders are relatively short. In addition, travel associated with crime is driven by opportunities presenting themselves during daily activities, rather than plans to offend.

Crime more prevalent where residents have less access to socio-economic resources

The results of this study show several differences in the characteristics of high- and low-crime neighbourhoods. They suggest that crime is more prevalent in neighbourhoods where residents have less access to socio-economic resources.

These neighbourhoods are characterized by an economically disadvantaged population with a lower proportion of highly educated people.

They are also more likely to have a larger number of single people, lone-parent families and recent immigrants. They exhibit greater residential instability, fewer owner-occupied dwellings and a larger proportion of the population spending more than 30% of their budget on housing.

Neighbourhoods with the highest crime rates also tend to have a greater portion of their land set aside for commercial or multi-family use.

Nevertheless, it must be remembered that these are crime rates that are measured at the neighbourhood level and not the delinquency rates of their residents. For example crimes committed in a downtown core may not be committed by downtown residents, but by those coming into the area. It is therefore important not to make generalizations.

When all other factors are taken into account, a limited number of factors are found to be linked to the variation in the crime rate at the neighbourhood level. The set of explanatory factors varies according to whether the offence is violent or property.

However, three key factors are involved in both types of crime: low income, the proportion of single people and commercial land use.

The report "Neighbourhood characteristics and the distribution of crime on the Island of Montréal" (85-561-MIE2006007, free) is now available as part of the Crime and Justice Research Paper Series. From the Our products and services page, under Browse our free internet publications choose Justice.

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods, or data quality of this release, contact Information and Client Services (1-800-387-2231; 613-951-9023), Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics.