Macro-Level Generators of Crime, Including Parks, Stadiums, and Transit Stations

This chapter examines the occurrence of crime at particular places that bring together lots of people in time and place, namely macro crime generators. Examples of these include hospitals, parks, large transit stations and interchanges, entertainment districts, and shopping malls. It begins by defining crime attractors and crime generators, and explores the subtle difference between them. It then examines why crime hotspots and crime generators tend to coexist, and considers the importance of scale in place-based studies of crime. Following this is a discussion of the “busyness” of crime generators, how the density of people, proximity of people, and interactions between people are all factors that influence crime opportunities at macro generators. Finally, the chapter reviews current evidence of three case studies of macro generators, namely parks, large stadiums, and large transit stations.