Variable

Parameter

Description

Global

Focal point

A point location (x, y) that is considered the focal point of the city. Usually a location within the main central part of the city or an area with the highest concentration of crime opportunities in line with the RAT [36] .

Proportional ratio

The ratio that describes the minimum area to maximum crime concentration in the city, in accordance with law of crime concentration [47] .

Trend

Defines the direction of the time series over time.

ShortTerm

Specifies the short- to medium-term fluctuations of the time series over time.

s_range/t_band

A pair of spatial thresholds that defines a geographical region within which point events interact. For guidance on the spatial bandwidth associated with different offender types, see [29] [48] [49] [50] [51] .

Restriction surface

A raster map showing landscape features with different restriction levels (i.e., level of guardianship) [52] [53] depicted by the pixel values. Each feature class will have the same pixel values. At most extreme, the raster may consist of only 0 s (no restrictions) and 1 s (highest restriction). At the other extreme, simulations may be performed without any raster, i.e., on a homogeneous terrain. All intermediate scenarios are also possible. Lower restrictions also imply that an agents can move faster (and so cover more areas and create more interactions), and vice versa.

Boundary

A shapefile (.shp) object delineating the extent of the landscape. Typically, the.shp object will form the baseline surface on top of which landscape (restrictive) features are stacked. Pixels outside the boundary are by default assigned value 1 s.

Individual level

Initial state

The initial status of an agent. Each agent assumes an ‘exploratory’ state at the start of simulation, i.e., no criminal activities is expected. The state may change as a reaction to agent interaction with the environment, driven by the ABM and MSM functions.

Sources

Defined as a set of x, y coordinates representing the origins of the agents. May be calibrated using the known offender residences [54] [55] or proxy datasets, such as land use patterns or observed crime clustering.

Spatial threshold

Defines the perception range of an agent at any instant. This is currently defined as a circle around an agent’s current location.

Temporal bin

The temporal unit of analysis. Time intervals within which agents reset (i.e., assumed to re-emerge).

Step length

Defines the maximum temporal step of an agent. This controls the levels of possible interactions between agents and the environment.