Crime in Border Regions: the Scandinavian Case of O¨ Resund, 1998–2001

Crime in Border Regions: The Scandinavian Case of O¨ resund, 1998–2001 Vaˆnia Ceccato* and Robert Haining** *Urban Studies Division, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm **Department of Geography, University of Cambridge This article compares offense patterns at two points in time in O¨ resund, a Scandinavian border region that spans Sweden and Denmark. The aim of the analysis is to contribute to a better understanding of the re- lationships between crime and demographic, socioeconomic, and land use covariates in a border area that has been targeted with long-term investments in transport. The changes effected by the construction of the O¨ resund bridge might be expected to have an impact on both the levels and the geographies of different offenses by creating new sites for offending and new, more vulnerable, transient groups. The article focuses on iden- tifying and explaining changes in the geography of crime before and after the bridge was built. Spatial statistical techniques and GIS underpin the methodology employed. The article shows that there have been changes in the levels and the geography of some offenses. Crime in border regions is likely to be of growing interest in Europe as a result of European Union (EU) enlargement and increasing intra-European cross-border movement facilitated by improved communication systems. Key Words: crime trends, border region, spatial statistics and GIS. Introduction term infrastructural and business investments. The O¨ resund bridge is the first fixed link between Sweden and egions in the European Union, during the last Denmark combining a four-lane motorway with a dual- decade, have been targets of large transport in- track railway. Second, Baltic and Nordic regions, because R vestments to promote social cohesion, diminish of their geographical proximity and well-developed eco- the economic disparities between countries, and improve nomic structures (in banking and transport), play an connections between European capitals (EC 1997; EC important role as receptors and transit territories for in- 1998). This increase in accessibility makes cities, regions, ternational organized crime, especially those operating and countries more vulnerable to crime through new from the east (Ulrich 1994; Galeotti 1995). patterns of mobility. Third, Sweden and Denmark differ in terms of regu- The literature on the impact of new transport links lations and legislations. There are structural differences on crime patterns at or across internal borders is com- in, for instance, income tax, tax on products, social se- paratively sparse. An exception is the study of the curity, and health care, which act as a stimulus to tunnel linking England and France where there is evi- smuggling. Finally, both in Sweden and Denmark, crime dence of changes in offense patterns (Rikskriminalpoli- data is systematically recorded geographically and tem- sen 1999). In July 2000, the O¨ resund region saw the porally by the local police authorities at a very detailed completion of a bridge linking Copenhagen and Malmo¨. level. In this article we present our findings on geographical The structure of this article is as follows. First, the shifts in offenses between 1998 and 2001. In addition, relationship between crime and communication systems we seek to explain changes in the geography of crime in in border regions is discussed. Then, a conceptual model Malmo¨ in terms of demographic, socioeconomic, and for examining the impact of improving cross-border land use covariates. communication on crime patterns is presented, and an The Scandinavian border region of O¨ resund1 has been analysis of changes between 1998 and 2001 over the chosen for several reasons (Figure 1). First, in the Nordic whole region is reported. We then discuss changes in the context, O¨ resund is an important growth region that has geography of crime in the Swedish city of Malmo¨ and been moving up the European hierarchy (Matthiessen present the results of modeling the changes in offense 2000, 2002). Substantial steps toward the region’s eco- patterns there. Directions for future work conclude the nomic integration were taken through large-scale, long- article. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 94(4), 2004, pp. 807–826 r 2004 by Association of American Geographers Initial submission, August 2003; revised submission, January 2004; final acceptance, March 2004 Published by Blackwell Publishing, 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, and 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, U.K. 808 Ceccato and Haining training or awareness to be an effective deterrent or may not be willing to put themselves at risk). Travelers who might be considered as informal guardians often have no sense of ownership and are unwilling to get involved. Crowding and congestion combined with a physical dete- rioration of the bus or railway station (e.g., poorly lit areas) may further increase the risk of certain types of offenses. There is also an indirect impact of transport infrastructure on crime patterns. Tourists are often unfamiliar with the risks they face in an unknown environment and become targets. The implementation of a new transport infrastructure leads to other types of investments in the immediate area that generate land uses. As Wikstro¨m (1991) argues, land use determines both the activities found in an area and the composition of the population Figure 1. The O¨ resund region. Source: Adapted from SCB, Orestad: at any given time. Shopping areas attract temporary ¨ statistik om Oresund, 2003. populations who are at high risk from so-called tourism- criminality (Rikskriminalpolisen 1999) such as pick- Literature Overview pocketing, shoplifting, thefts of different kinds, and, in certain cases, violence. These new groups are sometimes The Relationship between Crime and the ones that offend and get involved in opportunistic Communication Systems acts of violence and disorder (Dunning 2000; Stott, Hutchison, and Drury 2001). Long before the establishment of modern transportation systems, Colquhoun (1800) showed how they shape Crime at a Political Border2 crime patterns. He described how thieves preyed on valuable cargos in the Port of London (see also Tobias Political borders and the areas close to them are unique 1967). Today, public transport links (e.g., railways, roads) places for criminal activities. A border defines ‘‘the limits and nodes (e.g., stations, airports), together with related of executive police powers (and) states are reluctant to consumer services, generate other opportunities for crime. loosen their grip on these powers since territorial sover- A new transport terminal may have a direct effect on eignty represents an important political and psychological crime patterns by creating a new site for offending or threshold for any European country’’ (Anderson et al. altering patterns of routine activity by motivated of- 1995, 124). Hajdnijak (2002), for example, points out fenders. According to Brantingham and Brantingham how weakened state apparatus and political and social (1981) offenses occur where criminal opportunities instability in the former Yugoslavia create opportunities intersect with areas that are cognitively known to a for crime to the extent that a significant part of the motivated offender. Public transportation creates imper- population has been actively involved in criminal schemes sonal spaces that bring together different social groups, (e.g., illicit trade), largely tolerated by the authorities. The attract motivated offenders, and create opportunities for borders represent a form of ‘‘safety valve’’ for pressures crime (see, for example, Levine and Wachs 1986; Block created by the ever-increasing army of the unemployed. and Davies 1996; Poister 1996; LaVigne 1997; Tremblay Table 1 provides a summary of the many factors in this and Tremblay 1998; Loukaitou-Sideris 1999). context. Many of the factors relate to the states rather Transport sites are often crowded but lack ‘‘capable than being properties of the border itself. Nevertheless, it guardians’’—persons who, sometimes just by their pres- is at the border where these factors become important as ence, discourage crime from taking place (Cohen and triggers of crime. Felson 1979). ‘‘Guardians’’ may be formal (e.g., security guards or CCTV cameras) or informal (e.g., observant and Impact of Improving Cross-Border Communications concerned individuals) (Home Office 2003). Public spaces, on Crime: A Conceptual Framework like train stations and airports, suffer a double disadvan- tage. They are mostly equipped with impersonal surveil- We distinguish between three types of offenses in lance (e.g., CCTV cameras and other forms of surveillance) border regions. First, cross-border crime, such as smug- that may be ineffective (e.g., staff may not have sufficient gling, where the offense involves the transport of goods or Crime in Border Regions: The Scandinavian Case of O¨ resund, 1998–2001 809 Table1. Susceptibility of Border Regions to Crime Type Factor Description Location and geog- Border’s regional position. Border type This may impede or facilitate criminal activity. Field et al. (1991) illus- raphy (e.g, length, landscape, type of adja- trate how type of border adjacency influences the routes of criminal cency whether land, sea, or bridge). activities at the Mexican–American border. Similar examples are presented by Vagg (1992) and Hajdnijak (2002). Societal structures Economic inequality and relative depri- Wage differentials between countries, or significant unemployment

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