Spurring Crime? The Geospatial Clustering Of Dwis In San Antonio, Texas On Nba Gamedays

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2026

School

Criminal Justice, Forensic Science, and Security

Abstract

Background: Deaths related to driving while intoxicated (DWI) are pervasive in the U.S. Thus, it is important to examine events that may increase the risk of DWI, such as sporting events. Generally, sporting events have been linked to increases in crime, but less research has examined the impact on DWIs. Methods: The current study uses two years of data on DWI calls for service (CFS) in San Antonio, Texas (7th largest city in the U.S.) from the San Antonio Police Department ranging from January 1, 2019 to February 28, 2021 to examine the impact of San Antonio Spurs games (as well as certain game characteristics) on DWI CFS. Specifically, we use optimized hot spot analysis (OHSA) and hot spot analysis comparison (HSAC) to investigate the spatial clustering of DWI CFS in relation to San Antonio Spurs games. We also employ negative binomial regression to examine whether contextual factors predict the number of DWI CFS per day per grid. Results: The results indicate that there are stable, substantive hot spot clustering of DWI CFS in certain areas, irrespective of gamedays or game outcomes. Additionally, game conditions influence the concentration of DWI CFS in particular areas but these conditions do not significantly influence the number of DWI CFS per day per grid. Conclusions: The findings underscore the importance of examining game characteristics (such as outcomes and teams played), rather than simply exploring gamedays versus non-gamedays. Implications and recommendations are also discussed.

Publication Title

Journal of Experimental Criminology

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