Math in the News
Mathematicians Study Effect of Public Attitude on Crime
In a forthcoming article, a trio of mathematicians argue that in areas where the population generally frowns on criminal activity, crime waves can be stopped.
In a paper to appear in Multiscale Modeling and Simulation, Nancy Rodríguez and Lenya Ryzhik of Stanford University and Henri Berestycki of the Institute for Higher Studies in Social Sciences in Paris apply a type of mathematical model called a reaction-diffusion-advection system in a novel way to derive a result with implications for law enforcement.
According to Stanford University:
If the population has an overall anti-crime stance—meaning that the population is more reluctant to engage in criminal activity—two outcomes are possible. High crime rates can spread, but so can waves of zero criminal activity. And, unlike in the other scenarios, high crime rates can be stopped by adding in a 'gap.'
In the world of the model, the gap is a stretch of space where the incentive to commit a crime is zero. This corresponds to real-life disincentives to commit crimes, such as an increased police presence, with longer gaps representing more anti-crime efforts.
Source: Stanford University