Revealing the differences in bicycle theft and motorcycle theft: spatial patterns and contributing factors

Abstract There exists abundant literature on vehicle theft, but only a few studies focused on bicycle theft and motorcycle theft. This study aims to reveal and explain differences in spatial distributions of bicycle theft and motorcycle theft in ZG city, China. The key findings are as follows: (1) T...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Lin Liu, Heng Liu, Dongping Long, Xinhua Huang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Springer Nature 2025-02-01
Series:Humanities & Social Sciences Communications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-04507-6
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1823862644866547712
author Lin Liu
Heng Liu
Dongping Long
Xinhua Huang
author_facet Lin Liu
Heng Liu
Dongping Long
Xinhua Huang
author_sort Lin Liu
collection DOAJ
description Abstract There exists abundant literature on vehicle theft, but only a few studies focused on bicycle theft and motorcycle theft. This study aims to reveal and explain differences in spatial distributions of bicycle theft and motorcycle theft in ZG city, China. The key findings are as follows: (1) There are spatial disparities in the hotspots of bicycle theft and motorcycle theft. Bicycle theft hotspots predominantly cluster in the urban core of ZG city, while motorcycle theft hotspots are primarily concentrated in the suburban regions. (2) At the community level, car parks, Internet cafes, and subway stations have a significant positive impact on bicycle theft, while bus stops and shops have a significant positive impact on motorcycle theft. The residential area has significant positive impacts on both bicycle and motorcycle thefts. (3) The proportion of the low-educated has a significant deterrent effect on bicycle theft but a positive impact on motorcycle theft, while the proportion of low-income residents significantly increases motorcycle theft. The proportion of migrant population and residential land area within communities have a significant positive impact on both bicycle theft and motorcycle theft. (4) Surveillance cameras have a significant positive impact on motorcycle theft, but ambient population density has a significant deterring effect on motorcycle thefts. Neither of these two guardianship variables have significant impacts on bicycle thefts. The main theoretical contribution of this study is that it provided a comprehensive assessment on the contrasting spatial distributions between bicycle thefts and motorcycle thefts and on the contrasting contributing factors for the two thefts. These findings provide a scientific basis for effective crime prevention and urban governance. A uniform strategy would not be able to prevent and reduce both bicycle thefts and motorcycle thefts. Effective strategy should target the high concentration areas and intervene the specific contributing factors for each of the two thefts.
format Article
id doaj-art-3ac35e67526e4d05a03b0592ea990661
institution Kabale University
issn 2662-9992
language English
publishDate 2025-02-01
publisher Springer Nature
record_format Article
series Humanities & Social Sciences Communications
spelling doaj-art-3ac35e67526e4d05a03b0592ea9906612025-02-09T12:26:00ZengSpringer NatureHumanities & Social Sciences Communications2662-99922025-02-0112111110.1057/s41599-025-04507-6Revealing the differences in bicycle theft and motorcycle theft: spatial patterns and contributing factorsLin Liu0Heng Liu1Dongping Long2Xinhua Huang3Center of Geoinformatics for Public Security, School of Geography and Remote Sensing, Guangzhou UniversityCenter of Geoinformatics for Public Security, School of Geography and Remote Sensing, Guangzhou UniversityCenter of Geoinformatics for Public Security, School of Geography and Remote Sensing, Guangzhou UniversityCenter of Geoinformatics for Public Security, School of Geography and Remote Sensing, Guangzhou UniversityAbstract There exists abundant literature on vehicle theft, but only a few studies focused on bicycle theft and motorcycle theft. This study aims to reveal and explain differences in spatial distributions of bicycle theft and motorcycle theft in ZG city, China. The key findings are as follows: (1) There are spatial disparities in the hotspots of bicycle theft and motorcycle theft. Bicycle theft hotspots predominantly cluster in the urban core of ZG city, while motorcycle theft hotspots are primarily concentrated in the suburban regions. (2) At the community level, car parks, Internet cafes, and subway stations have a significant positive impact on bicycle theft, while bus stops and shops have a significant positive impact on motorcycle theft. The residential area has significant positive impacts on both bicycle and motorcycle thefts. (3) The proportion of the low-educated has a significant deterrent effect on bicycle theft but a positive impact on motorcycle theft, while the proportion of low-income residents significantly increases motorcycle theft. The proportion of migrant population and residential land area within communities have a significant positive impact on both bicycle theft and motorcycle theft. (4) Surveillance cameras have a significant positive impact on motorcycle theft, but ambient population density has a significant deterring effect on motorcycle thefts. Neither of these two guardianship variables have significant impacts on bicycle thefts. The main theoretical contribution of this study is that it provided a comprehensive assessment on the contrasting spatial distributions between bicycle thefts and motorcycle thefts and on the contrasting contributing factors for the two thefts. These findings provide a scientific basis for effective crime prevention and urban governance. A uniform strategy would not be able to prevent and reduce both bicycle thefts and motorcycle thefts. Effective strategy should target the high concentration areas and intervene the specific contributing factors for each of the two thefts.https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-04507-6
spellingShingle Lin Liu
Heng Liu
Dongping Long
Xinhua Huang
Revealing the differences in bicycle theft and motorcycle theft: spatial patterns and contributing factors
Humanities & Social Sciences Communications
title Revealing the differences in bicycle theft and motorcycle theft: spatial patterns and contributing factors
title_full Revealing the differences in bicycle theft and motorcycle theft: spatial patterns and contributing factors
title_fullStr Revealing the differences in bicycle theft and motorcycle theft: spatial patterns and contributing factors
title_full_unstemmed Revealing the differences in bicycle theft and motorcycle theft: spatial patterns and contributing factors
title_short Revealing the differences in bicycle theft and motorcycle theft: spatial patterns and contributing factors
title_sort revealing the differences in bicycle theft and motorcycle theft spatial patterns and contributing factors
url https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-04507-6
work_keys_str_mv AT linliu revealingthedifferencesinbicycletheftandmotorcycletheftspatialpatternsandcontributingfactors
AT hengliu revealingthedifferencesinbicycletheftandmotorcycletheftspatialpatternsandcontributingfactors
AT dongpinglong revealingthedifferencesinbicycletheftandmotorcycletheftspatialpatternsandcontributingfactors
AT xinhuahuang revealingthedifferencesinbicycletheftandmotorcycletheftspatialpatternsandcontributingfactors