1. ^aDepartment of Sociology, Loyola University Chicago, 6525 N. Sheridan Road, Chicago, IL 60626, U.S.A. E-mail: rblock@LUC.edu, agalary@LUC.edu
2. ^bSociology Department, Highline Community College, 240 S. 240th Street Des Moines, WA 98189, U.S.A. E-mail: dbrice@highline.edu

^*This research was primarily funded by a grant from the Joyce Foundation. Some analysis was also done under a contract to Northwestern University for evaluation of the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy. Technical development was supported by a research leave granted by Loyola University Chicago. Close co-operation with the Chicago Police Department was essential for the project. The analysis is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not reflect those of any of these agencies or the Chicago Police Department. Thanks to Alfred Blumstein for his suggestion to analyse incidents at the victim and/or offender's address separately.

Abstract

In Chicago, most non-lethal violence occurs close to the home of the victim or offender. This research describes the distance between the home of the victim and offender and their meeting in a violent crime. Analysis includes all UCR Index criminal sexual assaults, robberies, and aggravated assaults recorded by the Chicago Police in 1998. Little evidence is found for a zone of reduced crime around the home address of the offender. Predatory violence was most likely to occur in neighbourhoods where many offenders resided. Women were much more likely to be attacked close to their and the offender's home than men. Distance, location, and neighbourhood reflected the routine activities of victims and offender as they converged in a violent incident.