Application of the Partial Triadic Analysis Method to Analyze the Crime Rate in Poland in the Years 2000–2017

Abstract Research background: Crime is a complex social phenomenon studied by scientists from various disciplines, as well as being of interest to politicians and the general public. Although the decrease in the level of crime has been observed in Poland in recent years, there is still a need to search for effective methods of investigating the phenomenon of crime in a multidimensional perspective. Purpose: The aim of the paper is to assess the spatial and temporal diversity of the chosen criminal offences categories in Poland from 2000 to 2017. Research methodology: The analyzed dataset constitutes a data cube: objects x variables x time. This type of data requires the use of methods dealing with three-way data structures, therefore the Partial Triadic Analysis, belonging to the STATIS family methods, was successfully applied. Results: The structure of crime by voivodeship was fairly stable during the analyzed years. Three clusters of voivodeships similar in terms of the criminal crime rate were determined. The Podkarpackie Voivodeship was characterized by the most stable structure of criminal crime in the considered period. In contrast, noticeable changes in the crime structure over time were observed in the Opolskie, Dolnośląskie, Mazowieckie and Małopolskie Voivodeships. The highest variability was observed for crimes under The Act on Counteracting Drug Addiction. Novelty: To the best knowledge of the author, there are no papers on the level of crime using the PTA method for analysis.