Temporal Variability of Theft Types in the Historic Centre of Porto

Vanessa Azevedo, Mariana Magalhães, Daniela Paulo, Rui Leandro Maia, Gisela M. Oliveira, Maria Simas Guerreiro, Ana Isabel Sani and Laura M. Nunes
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Vanessa Azevedo: Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, University Fernando Pessoa (UFP), 4249-004 Porto, Portugal
Mariana Magalhães: Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, University Fernando Pessoa (UFP), 4249-004 Porto, Portugal
Daniela Paulo: Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, University Fernando Pessoa (UFP), 4249-004 Porto, Portugal
Rui Leandro Maia: Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, University Fernando Pessoa (UFP), 4249-004 Porto, Portugal
Gisela M. Oliveira: Fernando Pessoa Energy, Environment and Health Research Unit (FP-ENAS), University Fernando Pessoa (UFP), 4249-004 Porto, Portugal
Maria Simas Guerreiro: Observatory Permanent Violence and Crime (OPVC), University Fernando Pessoa (UFP), 4249-004 Porto, Portugal
Ana Isabel Sani: Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, University Fernando Pessoa (UFP), 4249-004 Porto, Portugal
Laura M. Nunes: Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, University Fernando Pessoa (UFP), 4249-004 Porto, Portugal

Social Sciences, 2021, vol. 10, issue 10, 1-12

Abstract: Criminology theories imply that time is a relevant variable, especially for the prevention and intervention of criminal occurrences. Thus, the study of criminal temporal patterns has been described as being of great relevance. The present study focuses on describing and exploring the influence of temporal and seasonal variables on the occurrence of different types of theft in the Historic Centre of Porto through the analysis of official records of the Public Security Police. Significant differences were found regarding the time of day and season of occurrence, even though it is not observed for all the types of theft analysed. Overall, theft was more prevalent at night and less frequent during winter, which is congruent with previous literature and the routine activity theory. Being the first case study in Porto city, Portugal, this research may be of extreme importance for both designing prevention and intervention policies in the area, and for inspiring future research on a criminal time analysis.

Keywords: urban criminality; thefts; official police records; seasonality analysis; temporal analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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