Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Urban Crime Pattern and its Implication for Abuja Municipal Area Council, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined the spatio-temporal analysis of urban crime pattern and its implication for Abuja Municipal Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria; it has the aim of using Geographical Information System to improve criminal justice system. The aim was achieved by establishing crime incident spots, types of crime committed, the time it occurred and factors responsible for prevailing crime. The methods for data collection involved Geoinformatics through the use of remote sensing and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) for spatial data. Questionnaires were administered for other attribute information required. The analysis carried out in a Geographic Information System (GIS) environment especially for mapping and the establishment of spatial patterns.  The results indicated that the main types of crime committed were theft and house breaking (42.9%), followed by assault (12.4%), mischief (11.3%), forgery (10.5%), car snatching (9.05%), armed robbery (8.5%), trespass (5.2%) and culpable homicide (0.2%). In terms of hot spots the districts recorded the following: Garki (27.62%), Maitama (25.7%), Utako (24.3%), Wuse (20.9%) and Asokoro district (1.4%) respectively with most of the crime committed during the day time. Many attributed the crimes to mainly high rate of unemployment and poverty (79.1%). Consequently to reduce the crime rate, the socio-economic situation of the city must be improved through properly constructed interventions scheme in areas known to quickly generate employment such as agriculture, small and medium scale enterprises, mining and tourism.