A Socioeconomic Dimension of Crime: A Spatial Study of Firearm-related Violence in Malmö
(2025) In Master Thesis in Geographic Information Science GISM01 20251Dept of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science
- Abstract
- Sweden has seen a rise in firearm-related violence in recent years, and Malmö is one of three cities that has experienced a significant increase in these crimes. This study isolates the role of socioeconomic variables as determinants of firearm-related violence, exploring whether socioeconomic disadvantage independently influences the spatial distribution of these incidents in Malmö. The spatial clustering of firearm-related violence in Malmö from 2018 to 2022 and the statistical relationship between these crimes and socioeconomic disadvantage were investigated.
Firearm-related violence incidents were examined through a Getis Ord-Gi* statistics hot spot analysis in GIS, followed by a visual interpretation of the socioeconomic... (More) - Sweden has seen a rise in firearm-related violence in recent years, and Malmö is one of three cities that has experienced a significant increase in these crimes. This study isolates the role of socioeconomic variables as determinants of firearm-related violence, exploring whether socioeconomic disadvantage independently influences the spatial distribution of these incidents in Malmö. The spatial clustering of firearm-related violence in Malmö from 2018 to 2022 and the statistical relationship between these crimes and socioeconomic disadvantage were investigated.
Firearm-related violence incidents were examined through a Getis Ord-Gi* statistics hot spot analysis in GIS, followed by a visual interpretation of the socioeconomic disadvantage characteristics in the areas identified as hot spots. The final part of this study investigated the statistical relationship between firearm-related violence and a socioeconomic disadvantage index constructed from the variables of unemployment, low economic standard, lower education and income support through a negative binomial regression model.
The results revealed statistically significant firearm-related hot spot areas in Malmö, which did not share any distinct socioeconomic disadvantage pattern. The hot spots did, however, share higher socioeconomic disadvantage values than the entire city. The regression model revealed a statistically significant relationship between firearm-related violence and socioeconomic disadvantage. The findings suggested that greater socioeconomic disadvantage contributes to higher rates of firearm-related violence. However, socioeconomic disadvantage is not a dominant factor and does not necessarily predict where the most severe clustering of firearm-related violence occurs. (Less) - Popular Abstract
- Firearm-related violence has been on the rise in Sweden in recent years, and Malmö is one of the most affected cities. Several factors have been suggested to contribute to this development, including socioeconomic conditions. This study investigates whether socioeconomic disadvantage can help identify where firearm-related violence is more likely to occur in the city.
To identify areas with high concentrations of firearm-related violence, every reported incident of firearm-related violence in Malmö between 2018 and 2022 was examined through a hot spot analysis in GIS. The identified areas were further compared to four socioeconomic disadvantage factors in these areas to determine whether areas with higher levels of firearm-related... (More) - Firearm-related violence has been on the rise in Sweden in recent years, and Malmö is one of the most affected cities. Several factors have been suggested to contribute to this development, including socioeconomic conditions. This study investigates whether socioeconomic disadvantage can help identify where firearm-related violence is more likely to occur in the city.
To identify areas with high concentrations of firearm-related violence, every reported incident of firearm-related violence in Malmö between 2018 and 2022 was examined through a hot spot analysis in GIS. The identified areas were further compared to four socioeconomic disadvantage factors in these areas to determine whether areas with higher levels of firearm-related violence shared specific socioeconomic conditions. A regression analysis was carried out to investigate the statistical relationship between firearm-related violence and socioeconomic disadvantage. This analysis tested the number of firearm-related violence incidents against a socioeconomic disadvantage index, which was based on four factors: unemployment, low economic standard, lower education, and income support.
The findings revealed that the areas with high concentrations of firearm-related violence did not share any distinct profile of socioeconomic disadvantage. However, these areas shared higher levels of socioeconomic disadvantage compared to the city as a whole. The regression analysis revealed that areas with greater disadvantage generally experienced more firearm-related violence. The findings suggested that while socioeconomic disadvantage can be linked to higher levels of firearm-related violence, it can not fully explain the distribution of such violence. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9205849
- author
- Bengtsson, Evelina LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- GISM01 20251
- year
- 2025
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Firearm-related violence, Socioeconomic disadvantage, GIS, Crime hot spot, Negative binomial regression
- publication/series
- Master Thesis in Geographic Information Science
- report number
- 191
- language
- English
- id
- 9205849
- date added to LUP
- 2025-06-27 14:01:24
- date last changed
- 2025-06-27 14:01:24
@misc{9205849,
abstract = {{Sweden has seen a rise in firearm-related violence in recent years, and Malmö is one of three cities that has experienced a significant increase in these crimes. This study isolates the role of socioeconomic variables as determinants of firearm-related violence, exploring whether socioeconomic disadvantage independently influences the spatial distribution of these incidents in Malmö. The spatial clustering of firearm-related violence in Malmö from 2018 to 2022 and the statistical relationship between these crimes and socioeconomic disadvantage were investigated.
Firearm-related violence incidents were examined through a Getis Ord-Gi* statistics hot spot analysis in GIS, followed by a visual interpretation of the socioeconomic disadvantage characteristics in the areas identified as hot spots. The final part of this study investigated the statistical relationship between firearm-related violence and a socioeconomic disadvantage index constructed from the variables of unemployment, low economic standard, lower education and income support through a negative binomial regression model.
The results revealed statistically significant firearm-related hot spot areas in Malmö, which did not share any distinct socioeconomic disadvantage pattern. The hot spots did, however, share higher socioeconomic disadvantage values than the entire city. The regression model revealed a statistically significant relationship between firearm-related violence and socioeconomic disadvantage. The findings suggested that greater socioeconomic disadvantage contributes to higher rates of firearm-related violence. However, socioeconomic disadvantage is not a dominant factor and does not necessarily predict where the most severe clustering of firearm-related violence occurs.}},
author = {{Bengtsson, Evelina}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
series = {{Master Thesis in Geographic Information Science}},
title = {{A Socioeconomic Dimension of Crime: A Spatial Study of Firearm-related Violence in Malmö}},
year = {{2025}},
}