Investigating Crime Trends in Toronto

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I live near Glenfield-Jane Heights, Toronto. Anyone familiar with this city would agree that Glenfield-Jane Heights is not the safest neighbourhood in Toronto. Every day I read about crimes taking place here and I realized I could do some analytical research on this topic: Do I really live near the most dangerous city in Toronto?

Chart URL: https://lnkd.in/djPEjpTH
Explore the code on my GitHub: https://lnkd.in/d6BXSDB2.
Here is the dataset I used: https://lnkd.in/dgbcYuVH

In every project, I try to challenge myself to present something new like learning a new skill. I introduced myself to a scatter map plot, as seen in the image on the left. (Click the map to get more info!)

The map shows that homicides are well distributed throughout the city with its peak seen in neighbourhoods such as Glenfield-Jane Heights and Mount Olive and areas such as Lawrence Park and Newton Brook West have shown the fewest homicides in the given time frame.

Classification by Type, Day and Month

The graph above focuses on the frequency of murders, providing a detailed analysis of occurrences over the specified timeframe. Here we can see a very stagnating graph with its peaks seen in 2018 surmounting almost 100 cases.

The bar graph illustrates the classification of homicides between 2004-2022, categorizing incidents into methods such as shootings, stabbings, or others. The data unequivocally reveals shootings as the predominant form, constituting nearly 45% of all homicides during this period. This significant trend underscores the urgent need for targeted interventions and comprehensive strategies to address firearm-related violence effectively.

The upcoming graph provides a breakdown of homicides by months and days. Notably, there is a peak in cases from July to October, while March and June show lower frequencies.

Similarly, weekends see higher incidents, with Thursdays having the lowest count. These observations offer clear insights into the temporal patterns of homicides without delving into complex implications.

Conclusion and Evaluation

To conclude my analysis, the data presents that Glenfield-Jane Heights is the most dangerous neighborhood recording the highest number of homicides in Toronto from 2004 to 2022. However, there are a few statistical limitations in reaching this conclusion.

My analysis focused solely on the count of homicides and did not encompass other types of criminal activities. While Glenfield-Jane Heights may lead in terms of homicides, it may not necessarily hold the same distinction when considering overall crime statistics such as theft.
The population of each neighbourhood is unknown. Larger neighborhood's might naturally have higher crime counts due to a higher population, but this doesn't necessarily mean they are more dangerous on a per-capita basis.
My dashboard does not consider socioeconomic factors, education levels, and demographic characteristics that can influence crime rates. The analysis did not incorporate these variables.

If I were to do this project again, I would try to wrangle different datasets from a range of reputable sources and combine them all to get a more holistic understanding of the real world.