Concentration of Urban Violence in Fortaleza and Strategies for Crime Prevention

Abstract

Despite the continued prevalence of violence in Latin America, there is a relative dearth of research investigating both spatial patterns of violent crimes and the effectiveness of evidence-based crime prevention policies in Brazil. This study aims to address this gap in extant knowledge by creating a Spatial Violence Index and a Restrictive Ambient Index to investigate the spatial dynamics of violent crimes and urban vulnerabilities in Fortaleza. Both exploratory spatial data analysis and spatial regression models were employed to visualize the associative patterns and measure the correlation between the two indexes. The results demonstrate how locations characterized by high levels of violence are spatially correlated with more vulnerable locations in terms of both socio-economic-demographics and urban disorder. Overall, the study identified 124 vulnerable micro-territories that would benefit from the allocation of resources in an effort to reduce violence in the city by enhancing the efficiency of policing and prevention strategies.

Evidence-based policing

“…Realizar um mapeamento científico, ou mapeamento bibliométrico, indica procurar descrever como domínios científicos ou campos de estudos de pesquisa são cientificamente, intelectualmente e socialmente estruturados (Cobo et al, 2011). Corroborando os dados aqui apresentados, autores brasileiros afirmam que as aplicações de policiamento baseado em evidências, políticas baseadas em dados e estratégias orientadas para a comunidade para reduzir o crime têm sido realizadas até agora principalmente nos Estados Unidos e em outras cidades industrializadas do Ocidente, mas também podem encontrar terreno fértil na América Latina (Dantas;Favarin, 2021).…”

Social Media and the Influence of Fake News on Global Health Interventions: Implications for a Study on Dengue in Brazil

“…Fortaleza is particularly burdened by dengue, with children under the age of 15 representing most of the cases [ 28 , 31 ]. Its tropical climate, high population density, rapid urbanization, and inadequate sanitation conditions make the population of Fortaleza particularly vulnerable to dengue [ 28 , 32 ]. With high poverty rates and income inequalities, Fortaleza is also one of the most violent cities in the country and worldwide due to drug trafficking and related gang violence [ 32 ].…”

“…Its tropical climate, high population density, rapid urbanization, and inadequate sanitation conditions make the population of Fortaleza particularly vulnerable to dengue [ 28 , 32 ]. With high poverty rates and income inequalities, Fortaleza is also one of the most violent cities in the country and worldwide due to drug trafficking and related gang violence [ 32 ]. In the last decades, violent crime rates have escalated in Fortaleza, as gangs have attempted to kill members of rival gangs and control the local drug market [ 33 ].…”

“…In the last decades, violent crime rates have escalated in Fortaleza, as gangs have attempted to kill members of rival gangs and control the local drug market [ 33 ]. Studies conducted in Fortaleza have shown that violent crimes perpetrated by gangs have clustered in neighborhoods with high income inequalities, high population density, low literacy levels, and limited access to public infrastructure [ 32 , 33 ]. These socioeconomically deprived neighborhoods also are particularly at risk of dengue [ 34 ].…”