Introduction
An understanding of both the temporal and spatial patterns of criminal activity within cities is key to developing effective prevention and intervention strategies. Previous literature has shown that occurrences of crime are determined by urban spatial configuration[1] and that crime rates are negatively correlated to ambient light level[2]. As the third largest metropolitan area in Canada, crimes in Vancouver also reflect these patterns.
In our project, we used publicly available crime data from the Vancouver Police Department[3] from April 2013 to April 2023. This data contains information for the type of crime, its date and time, and location. We used this data to make an inference on what proportion of crimes happen at night. Additionally, we used this proportion to hypothesize whether there is a difference in nighttime crime rate between downtown and non-downtown areas for major cities across North America.