Abstract

Space and statistics are fundamental to understanding crime, yet their importance in criminological research is often underappreciated. Crime is not randomly distributed across geographical space: it concentrates in particular neighbourhoods, streets, and facilities, varies over time, and reflects the interaction between people, places, and environmental conditions. Understanding these spatial patterns is therefore essential to explaining not only how much crime occurs, but where it occurs, why it concentrates in particular locations, and how it can be prevented. This presentation highlights the value of integrating geographical perspectives with robust statistical approaches to advance criminological knowledge. It demonstrates how crime mapping, spatial statistics, hotspot analysis, and ecological analysis can identify concentrations of criminal activity, test relationships between crime and its potential drivers, and distinguish meaningful patterns from apparent associations. Examples from South Africa illustrate how crime is disproportionately concentrated in specific areas and how spatially targeted interventions can inform more effective policing and prevention strategies. Importantly, the presentation argues that statistical analysis without adequate consideration of space risks overlooking geographical variation, local context, and the processes that shape criminal opportunities. Conversely, spatial visualisation without rigorous statistical analysis may produce misleading interpretations. These limitations are particularly consequential in the Global South, where spatial data availability and analytical capacity remain uneven. Ultimately, integrating space and statistics is essential to producing more rigorous, explanatory, and actionable criminological research that informs evidence-based crime prevention and reduction.