Risky places: An analysis of carjackings in Detroit

•An analysis of carjacking locations in Detroit using Risk Terrain Modeling is conducted.•The risk of carjacking varied greatly based on the presence of environmental features.•Results contribute to understanding of offender decision making processes.

The purpose of this research is to apply Risk Terrain Modeling (RTM) to identify spatial indicators that may place citizens at higher risk for carjackings in the City of Detroit, Michigan, USA. While a number of risk factors were tested, the RTM Diagnostic utility identified six that were influential in the best fitting model: proximity to service stations; convenience/grocery/liquor stores; bus stops; residential and commercial demolitions; and areas with high concentrations of drug arrests and restaurants. These factors resulted in relative risk scores that ranged from 1 for the lowest risk areas to 278 for the highest risk areas. This implied that certain locations had an expected rate of carjacking that was 278 times higher than other locations.