About the project
The overall aim of this project is to establish empirical knowledge on the concentration of social problems in neighbourhoods, and the consequences of such environment for those who live there. The main focus is on crime, both in terms of criminal incidents as well as geographical concentration of residential active offenders.
Objectives
Most known offenders commit only one or a few offences, while a smaller group commit a large number of crimes over time. Neither are all offenders well connected with other offenders to such an extent that one can say that they are part of a criminal network. This project will first provide a thorough empirical analyses on each these two elements: criminal careers and social networks, and more specifically: co-offending networks of high-rate offenders.
Geographical concentrations of social problems combined with the presence of informal networks of active offenders are sometimes referred to as 'vulnerable areas', with the potential for developing even more serious social problems, related to sub-cultures of social excluded groups. The project then aims at combining the empirical insight of criminal careers and offender networks into analyses of the changes in neighbourhoods over time, and assessing the consequences of neighbourhood characteristics on other residents.
Financing
The project is funded by the Research Council of Norway. The total grant is NOK 11.415.000.
Cooperation
The Police University College is partner in the project.
Duration
01.08.2020 – 31.12.2025