Utilizing a data integration approach to analyse the nature of homicide crimes in the cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow throughout the past century

Abstract

This dissertation uses a data integration approach to study the nature of homicide crimes in the cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow over the past century (between 1910 and 2010). Archive records and media sources were used to obtain the specific geographic location of homicide crimes. 226 homicide crimes for Edinburgh were digitized and 451 for Glasgow. The data analysis phase of the project assessed the data from both exploratory and confirmatory perspectives. Hot spot analysis using Nearest Neighbour Hierarchical Clustering (Nnh) has shown significant temporal trends in the clustering of homicide hot spots in both Edinburgh and Glasgow throughout the past century. Regression analysis was then applied to explore the relationship between homicide crimes and two recognized material deprivation indexes, the Townsend Index and the Carstairs Index. Results have shown a weak but positive relationship with both indexes.