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Crime and Justice Researchers Publish Findings on Mobility Patterns Using Social Media

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A study by Crime and Justice Policy Researchers James Wo, Ethan Rogers, Mark Berg and Caglar Koylu was published examining human mobility patterns of crime through the lens of social media. Set in Los Angeles, the study placed Twitter users in the area into different block groups based on location and layered crime data from the Los Angeles Police Department to analyze crime patterns and rates. 

The study showed that the general density of Twitter users in block groups was related to higher counts of violent and property crime, consistent with previous research on population and crime. The results also revealed that the composition of Twitter users matters more for local crime rates than the activity (tweets) of users.

Find the publication here.