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Agent-Based Modeling for Understanding Patterns of Crime

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Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice

Synonyms

Individual-based simulation modeling

Overview

Many questions in criminology focus on dynamic processes and individual decision-making. For example, crime events represent the end result of a multitude of decisions made by a variety of different people in the context of specific situations. Potential offenders, potential victims, police, and other informal guardians of places make choices that bring them together at the same place and time. However, data describing any of those individual decisions prior to, during, and after the crime event are only rarely available and never complete. Once at a place, potential victims may take actions that make them a more suitable target. Potential offenders observe these actions and reevaluate the likelihood of getting away with a crime. At the same time, likely offenders also notice the actions of potential guardians and make adjustments. Even if data were collected to document the actions of individuals, the dynamic and nonlinear nature...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Elizabeth R Groff

Authors
  1. Elizabeth R Groff
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Elizabeth R Groff .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement (NSCR), Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Gerben Bruinsma

  2. VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Gerben Bruinsma

  3. Department of Criminology, Law and Society, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA

    David Weisburd

  4. Faculty of Law, The Hebrew University, Mt. Scopus, Jerusalem, Israel

    David Weisburd

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Groff, E.R. (2014). Agent-Based Modeling for Understanding Patterns of Crime. In: Bruinsma, G., Weisburd, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5690-2_476

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5690-2_476

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-5689-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-5690-2

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