Place Managers and the Geography of Crime Around Amusement Parks

Austin L. Roth
Dr. Kat Albrecht, Faculty Mentor

This study explores how place management, location, and operational factors of amusement parks are associated with nearby crime incidents. Drawing on routine activity theory and the concept of risky facilities, it addresses the scarcity of research directly linking amusement parks and crime. Using a comparative mixed-methods approach, it examines 12,533 geolocated crime incidents within one-mile of four U.S. amusement parks during 2023. Data were drawn from municipal open data portals and analyzed using QGIS and descriptive statistical methods. Findings indicate that motor vehicle related offenses and petty larceny offenses dominate across all sites, and that incident frequency tends to increase on weekends and during peak operating months. The analysis suggests that operational seasonality and park geographic context could shape local crime patterns alongside place management. This study highlights the need for more granular measures of place management, incorporation of visitor-rate data, and inferential testing to clarify causal relationships.

Keywords: Crime and Social Control, Place Management, Tourism, Geospatial Crime Analysis

Topic(s):Justice Systems

Presentation Type: Poster Presentation

Session: TBA
Location: TBA
Time: TBA