Many purse-snatching cases occur near or around stations or entertainment areas where many people gather. We examined 16 purse-snatching cases closely and verified how purse-snatching offenders utilized urban spaces and how they behaved. Our results showed that purse-snatching offenders headed for hunting grounds looking for their targets based on the distance between their bases and their hunting grounds. It also depended on the transportation means they used. Urban elements also affected the behaviors of the purse-snatching offenders and the offenders often utilized urban structures such as parks as their escape routes or hiding places.
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Hidenori Tamagawa (2012) studied this question.