Public transport stops and crime within the city space. The case of Stare Bałuty in Łódź

The goals of the study presented in the article draw attention to the role of public transport stops in the spatial distribution of crime in the Stare Bałuty estate in Łódź, Poland. Answers are provided to the questions of spatio-temporal structure of criminal acts committed within the estate, the influence zone of transport stops as well as the assessment and effects of environmental crime predictors in their vicinity. Crime location quotient (LQC) was used to assess the intensity of crime and identify the influence zone that attracts certain categories of crimes to the vicinity of stops. The influence of environmental predictors on the level of threat was identified and assessed on the basis of B. Czarnecki’s method. The variables used in the analysis initially spanned 739 crimes and 53 public transport stops evaluated with regard to 20 safety aspects and their impact on the pro-crime effects on the scale of location as well as various forms and functions of urban development. A strong negative influence of public transport stops ‒ attracting various categories of crime, mostly property theft ‒ was discovered. The negative influence of stops on the concentration of crime within 200 metres is reinforced by the existence of environmental crime predictors. The recommendations and discussions resulting from the findings should influence the policy of crime prevention on the level of object location, management and the maintenance of socio-spatial order in the vicinity.