Comparing crime prevention strategies by agent-based simulation

Abstract

Within the field of Criminology, an important challenge is to investigate the spatio-temporal dynamics of crime. Typical questions in this area are how the emergence of criminal hot spots can be predicted and prevented. This paper presents an agent-based simulation approach that is able to address such questions. More specifically, the approach can be used to compare different strategies for guardian movement in terms of their effectiveness. To illustrate the approach, a number of simulation experiments have been performed, and the results are discussed.