One of the main aims of the study is to examine the interactions between individual level factors (such as personality and family) and neighbourhood level factors (such as the physical environment and social controls in the community) which contribute to criminal offending. In order to study the social geography of Edinburgh and these neighbourhood level factors, a computerised Geographic Information System (GIS) has been developed. Various sources of geo-coded data are being examined, including police recorded crime information, 1991 and 2001 census data and information from the City of Edinburgh Council on unemployment, land use and housing. The information about neighbourhoods is being used to study crime patterns in three main ways: The postcode of each member of the cohort has been geo-coded. Information about the cohort members such as offending behaviour can be visualised spatially and compared with other geo-coded information such as local unemployment The GIS has also been used to define 91 neighbourhoods in Edinburgh, based on six census characteristics indicating levels of social stress and police recorded crime data An Edinburgh-wide community study was conducted in 2001 which involved surveying a representative sample of the adult population to examine the influences of neighbourhood and community on crime and criminality.