ABSTRACT
In this chapter, Brantingham, Wuschke, Frank, and Brantingam discuss and demonstrate the use of simulation modeling. As they state, this analytic technique uses “rules of action” to improve theoretical clarity and validity, and thereby improve our capacity for understanding crime. Using “crime pattern theory” as a base, Brantingham and colleagues discuss the importance of incorporating clearly defined elements of offender routines and the urban (geographic) backcloth into explanations of crime. They then provide an empirical example comparing a hypothetical model of repeat offending with actual data from frequent offenders in British Columbia. Their chapter demonstrates how a focus on crime emergence pushes scholars to think about interactions, process, and feedback loops, as well as how simulation modeling is uniquely suited to this enterprise.
