Crime Displacement and Diffusion Analysis
Displacement and diffusion analysis evaluates what happens around a crime-prevention intervention: does crime simply move to nearby areas, times, or targets (displacement), or do the benefits spill over so that crime also falls in surrounding untreated areas (diffusion of benefits)? Bowers and Johnson's weighted displacement quotient (WDQ) provides a simple, widely used metric that compares pre/post crime change in a target area, a surrounding buffer, and a control area.
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Sources
- Bowers, K. J., & Johnson, S. D. (2003). Measuring the geographical displacement and diffusion of benefit effects of crime prevention activity. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 19(3), 275–301. DOI: 10.1023/A:1024909117215 ↗
- Guerette, R. T., & Bowers, K. J. (2009). Assessing the extent of crime displacement and diffusion of benefits: A review of situational crime prevention evaluations. Criminology, 47(4), 1331–1368. DOI: 10.1111/j.1745-9125.2009.00177.x ↗
How to cite this page
ScholarGate. (2026, June 22). Analysis of Crime Displacement and Diffusion of Benefits. ScholarGate. https://scholargate.app/en/criminology/displacement-diffusion-analysis
Which method?
Set this method beside its closest kin and read them side by side — the library lays the books on the table; the choice is yours.
- Crime Hot Spot AnalysisCriminology↔ compare
- Crime MappingCriminology↔ compare
- Near-Repeat AnalysisCriminology↔ compare
- Situational Crime Prevention AnalysisCriminology↔ compare