Remapping gang turf: Math model shows crimes cluster on borders
between rivals By Meg Sullivan June 25, 2012 Category: Research
A mathematical model that has been used for more than 80 years
to determine the hunting range of animals in the wild holds
promise for mapping the territories of street gangs, a UCLA-led
team of social scientists reports in a new study. "The way gangs
break up their neighborhoods into unique territories is a lot
like the way lions or honey bees break up space," said lead
author P. Jeffrey Brantingham, a professor of anthropology at
UCLA. Further, the research demonstrates that the most dangerous
place to be in a neighborhood packed with gangs is not deep
within the territory of a specific gang, as one might suppose,
but on the border between two rival gangs. In fact, the highest
concentration of conflict occurs within less than two blocks of
gang boundaries, the researchers discovered. The findings appear
online today in Criminology, a peer-reviewed scholarly journal
published by the