SPATIAL ANALYSIS OF CRIME IN THE SEKONDI-TAKORADI METROPOLIS

ABSTRACT In the Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis, the crime rate has been on the ascendency, and the rate of ascendency of crime has increased since the discovery of oil in commercial quantities. One issue that has been absent from the Police Service in the metropolis and which has contributed to this rise is the lack of use of technology by the Police in fighting crime in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis. The research therefore employs various technological techniques to investigate the problem. As such the main objective of this research is to analyse the spatial patterns of crime in the metropolis. In order to achieve this objective, various methodologies were employed. A one-way repeated measure ANOVA test was performed to see if there were any statistical significant difference between the differences between the study years. A clustering map was created to show the hotspots of the various crimes in the metropolis over the study period. A routine activity space map was also created through the routine activity space theory. Lastly, a regression analysis was also performed to examine the relationship between the crime data, routine activity map and the hotspot map. The research wanted to examine if there was a relationship between these three variables employed in the study. The study findings were found to be generally consistent with the Routine Activity theory by conclusively demonstrating that place, in this instance, suburbs and their location influence the distribution of crime. The Ghana Police Service should set up GIS departments in all police stations to provide spatial analysis resource in fighting crime in Ghana.