The Topography of Crime
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The Topography of Crime Marcus Felson1 Both the ‘topography of crime’ and the ‘geography of crime’ inform the field of environmental criminology. The former studies the localized and fine features of landscape and cityscape as these influence crime and its prevention. The latter examines the broader spatial swath in order to describe and make sense of crime. Both must be mastered for environmental criminology to gain ground as a science and to become a tool to prevent crime. This brief essay presents some challenges for the topography of crime, considers some of the specifics it might address, and shows how it might enrich environmental criminology by helping to describe landscapes and cityscapes as they affect criminal activities. Key Words: Geography of crime; routine activities and crime; environmental criminology Topography refers to a detailed description of a particular place, city, county, region, or tract of land. It is distinguished from geography by its focus on more minute details rather than general principles. However, any empirical science draws very strong linkages betweens its details and principles. Accordingly, topography and geography are highly interdependent, and the ‘topography of crime’ must be closely related to the development of the ‘geography of crime’ and to the larger field that encompasses them both, environmental criminology. Topography of crime as a distinct field Environmental criminology has for some years been defined by Brantingham and Brantingham,2 and has become for many a focus of attention. The ‘geography of crime’ has been defined for even longer.3 Both of these terms for many years incorporated detailed descriptions of crime settings. Environmental criminologists have for some time paid great attention to the local and minute details that make crime more or less likely to occur. Why then should the topography of crime be differentiated as a field? The answer to this question lies in the enrichment of knowledge and the division of labor that assists science to maintain order as it progresses. The growth of knowledge in environmental criminology in the past decade has been so great that it pushes all of us towards a division of labor among individuals and even groups of scholars, notwithstanding their need for interaction. One form of division of labor in environmental criminology is, not surprisingly, by environmental type. Thus we see a few environmental criminologists beginning to specialize in such topics as crime in public places, in housing, at drinking settings, within schools and campuses, at sports facilities, in parking locations, within retail stores, at docks and warehouses, and in public transit stations. Division of labor in science, however, tends to grow along different dimensions. Some people specialize in minute locations, while others look at how crime varies over a broader swath of territory. Some individual criminologists are extremely talented at describing minute details, but
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