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Home > Open Access Journals > JSS > Vol. 17 > No. 3 (2024)

 

Author Biography

Carlos Alvarez is a criminal justice PhD candidate at Texas A&M International University. He received his Peace Officer License from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement and is commissioned by the Texas Department of Public Safety. His recent research has focused on criminal law, national security, and the spatial analyses of policing the Texas-Mexico border.

Jascha Wagner is an alumni from the University of Delaware and professor of criminal justice at Texas A&M International University. His recent research has focused on spatial analyses of issues related to substance use and drug crimes.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5038/1944-0472.17.3.2207

Subject Area Keywords

Counterintelligence, Human trafficking, Intelligence collection, International security, Mexico, Strategy, Threat assessment

Abstract

Border crimes threaten public safety and security in the United States and the US-Mexico border region. Several evaluations support that data-driven, place-based crime prevention approaches can complement current public safety strategies and help reduce crime. Accordingly, place-based crime prevention may successfully prevent border crimes since these are inherently spatial. However, few studies have analyzed the geographies of Texas-Mexico border crimes, and assessments of data-driven, place-based crime prevention strategies of border crimes still lack a solid empirical foundation – especially in more rural border communities. To address this issue, this study builds police report data (Border Incident Assessment Report (BIAR)), used to record crime information related to cross-border criminal arrests and counter-criminal intelligence collection (2019-2022), for one rural county on the US-Mexico border. Results indicate high degrees of spatial concentrations of human smuggling and drug crimes. This study, moreover, explores how conventional theories of crimes and places (e.g., social disorganization) are able to explain border crimes. Findings indicate that while indicators work reasonably well to explain spatial patterns for drug crimes, more border crime specific indicators and models might have to be developed for human smuggling events.

Disclaimer

To the maximum extent permitted by law, the publisher and the author disclaim any and all liability in the event any information, commentary, analysis, opinions, and/or recommendations contained in this article prove to be inaccurate, incomplete, or result in any investment or other losses. This study was prepared or accomplished by Alvarez & Wagner in their personal capacity. The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not reflect the view of any law enforcement agency or United States government.

Acknowledgements

There was no financial support for this study. The authors wish to thank the Zapata County Sheriff's Office, and the Texas Department of Public Safety Sergeant Christopher P. Williams and Raul G. Madrigal, for their valuable contributions.

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