10.2190/04A6-1D26-HJCN-JJ5C 04A61D26HJCNJJ5C 1 Crime Rates and Environmental Denominators 3 15 20020509 20020509 20020509 20020509 04A61D26HJCNJJ5C.pdf http://baywood.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=04A61D26HJCNJJ5C 1 Keith D. Harries Department of Geography, Oklahoma State University The basic purpose of the research discussed here is to show that the expression and analysis of crime in the form of frequency counts of population-based rates may be inappropriate in various law enforcement, criminal justice planning, and research applications. It is suggested that rates incorporating environmental denominators may provide a more satisfactory expression of crime in some circumstances. Various problems associated with the use of frequencies and population-based rates are outlined. Using robbery as a sample crime, a rationale is developed for the use of specific denominators indicative of the environments with which it is typically associated. A factor analysis of robbery rates based on various denominators suggests that several can provide information about the robbery "surface" that differs significantly from the information obtained when population is the denominator. Federal Bureau of Investigation, <i>Uniform Crime Reports</i>, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., annual. R. M. Haynes, Crime Rates and City Size in America, <i>Area, 5</i>, pp. 162-165, 1973. J. P. Gibbs and M. L. Erickson, Crime Rates of American Cities in an Ecological Context, <i>American Journal of Sociology, 82</i>, pp. 605-620, 1976. K. D. Harries, <i>Crime and the Environment</i>, Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, Illinois, 1980. P. Scott, The Spatial Analysis of Crime and Delinquency, <i>Australian Geographical Studies, 10</i>, pp. 1-18, 1972.