SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND DEMOGRAPHIC ATTRIBUTES OF AREAS ARE USED TO EXPLAIN THE AREAL VARIATIONS IN CRIME RATES AS WELL AS TO IDENTIFY CRIME AREAS IN NEW CASTLE COUNTY, DELAWARE. THE STUDY ALSO EXAMINES THE EFFECTS OF CHANGES IN THE SIZE OF THE GEOGRAPHIC UNITS ON THE SPATIALLY DERIVED CATEGORIES OF CRIME AND THEIR GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION. THE OBJECTIVE IS TO ANALYZE SPACIAL DISTRIBUTION OF CRIME RATES WITH A VIEW TOWARD EXPANDING PRESENT KNOWLEDGE OF PLACE-TO-PLACE VARIATIONS IN CRIME CONFIGURATIONS. A LITERATURE REVIEW DISCUSSES THE NATURE AND ETIOLOGY OF CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR AND EXAMINES THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF GEOGRAPHERS TO THE FIELD. SEVERAL HYPOTHESES ARE CONSIDERED THAT ARE ORGANIZED ACCORDING TO THE FOLLOWING AREAS OF CONCERN: (1) THE IDENTIFICATION OF THE SPACIAL CATEGORIES OF CRIME; (2) THE GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF CRIME OCCURRENCE RATES; (3) THE SOCIOECONOMIC CORRELATES OF CRIME RATES; AND (4) THE EFFECTS OF SPACIAL SCALE CHANGES. THE ANALYSIS OF THE DATA CONCERNS SPACIALLY DERIVED CLASSES OF CRIMINAL OFFENSES AND THEIR GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTIONS, THE SOCIOECONOMIC SPACIAL STRUCTURE OF THE STUDY AREA, THE INTERRELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN AREALLY BASED CRIME AND TERRITORIAL SOCIOECONOMIC PATTERNS, AND THE ISSUE OF SPACIAL SCALE INFERENCE PROBLEMS. RESULTS ARE COMPARED AT THE MACRO AND MICRO LEVELS. A SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS ARE INCLUDED ALONG WITH AN ASSESSMENT OF THEORETICAL AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE STUDY. APPENDIXES CONTAIN TABULATED DATA, AND A BIBLIOGRAPHY IS INCLUDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED--KJM)