Analyzing the spatial temporal of property crime hot spots. A case study of Kuching, Sarawak

Abstract

This study aims to determine the monthly hot spots of property crime in Kuching, Sarawak from January-December, 2015-2017. Hot Spot Analysis (Getis Ord Gi*) was chosen for this study because it can detect the areas that have spatial clustering with similar values around its neighboring boundaries. It can present an output for hot spots and cold spots with different levels of statistical significance. Gita Police Station sector boundaries were identified as a high-value cluster for eight months in 2015 and also have a high-value cluster for seven months in 2016. However, in 2017 Padungan Police Station sector boundary was identified as a high-value cluster for four months. The hot spots of property crime in Kuching, Sarawak change over time and places. This study found that holidays and festivals are exogenous factors that can influence the increases of property crime rate in Kuching, Sarawak. The findings of this study can help police to predict temporal crime trends accurately which would be beneficial for management planning.