The effects of U-city security service on crime rates

The national economy of South Korea has grown exponentially after 1960s, resulting in the urbanization rate to soar 39.1% in 1960 to 91.5% in 2013. However, unlike the rapid quantitative growth, a slow trend in qualitative growth of cities has resulted in a number of urban problems, especially in crime. A number of recent studies have focused on the factors influencing crime rates, the spatial effects of crime, as well as cities operating Ubiquitous Security service for the purpose of crime prevention. This study aims to address the effects of Ubiquitous city (U-city) on crime rates within the metropolitan area of Seoul. The study first analyzes the geographical distribution of crime rates and then identifies the existence of spatial autocorrelation of crime rates within Seoul. Finally, the study determines whether the execution of U-Security service affects crime rates and other urban characteristics that influence crime rates. These effects are determined by applying spatial regression models, which can control the spatial effects and other effects of other urban characteristics on crime rates. The results of this analysis show that U-City security service does not have a statistically significant effect on crime rates. The study can be used to support the application of U-City security service to regions with high crime rates, and to address the needs of future studies that aim to compare crime rates before and after the application of U-City security service.