Criminal Behavior and the Urban-rural Dimension

• NCJ Number: 76444
• Author(s): J H Laub
• Date Published: 1980
• Length: 252 pages
• Sale Source: UMI Dissertation Services; Not Available Through National Institute of Justice/NCJRS Document Loan Program
• Publication Type: Thesis/Dissertation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS. State University of New York at Albany - doctoral dissertation

Annotation

In this study, National Crime Survey (NCS) victimization data were used to describe and analyze the patterns, nature, and consequences of victimizations across urban, suburban, and rural areas.

Abstract

The extent of urbanization has an established history as a major correlate of crime. Despite extensive theoretical discussion, empirical research on the urban-rural dimension has been meager. This study presents the victimization data for urban, suburban, and rural areas according to three offender age groups: juveniles (under 18), youthful offenders (18 to 20), and adults (21 or older). Additionally, the meaning of the urban-rural dimension was assessed by examining various theoretical explanations for urban-rural crime rate differences. From themes in the literature, a portrait of urban-rural differences in victimization experiences was presented. Differences were found in the crime type mix, the proportion of strangers as offenders, and the extent of group crime across the urban-rural dimension. However, virtually no differences were revealed regarding the extent or type of weapons used, success in theft, rates of victim injury, and the amount of victim reporting to the police. Also examined were various explanations designed to account for urban-rural differences in attitudes and behavior (including crime). The research results strongly suggest that individual attributes such as race of offender be considered in conjunction with ecological characteristics (e.g., size and density) in any account of urban-rural crime rate differences. These findings imply a reconsideration of the relationship between urbanization and crime. The results of the study have implications for theories of crime and delinquency. While evidence was not directly generated to support or refute any one particular theory, the elements of a theoretical structure are presented. This theoretical structure draws primarily from social disorganization and control theory. Tabular data, a bibliography of about 200 references, and 7 appendixes are provided. (Author abstract modified)