CRIMINAL'S IMAGE OF THE CITY AND URBAN CRIME PATTERNS

• NCJ Number: 42930
• Journal: Social Science Quarterly Volume: 57 Issue: 3 Dated: (DECEMBER 1976) Pages: 597-607
• Author(s): R L CARTER; K Q HILL
• Date Published: 1976
• Length: 12 pages
• Corporate Author: Southwestern Social Science Assoc
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

THIS STUDY COMBINED DATA ON THE BEHAVIOR OF INDIVIDUAL CRIMINALS (THE LOCATIONS OF THEIR CRIMES IM THE CITY) WIT THOSE CRIMINALS' EVALUATIONS OF DIFFERENT AREAS OF THE CITY TO ANALYZE THE SPATIAL PATTERNING OF URBAN CRIME.

Abstract

ANALYSIS HAS DIRECTED TOWARD THREE QUESTIONS: THE GENERAL CHARACTER OF CRIMINALS' EVALUATIONS OF AREAS WITHIN A CITY, HOW CRIMINALS' EVALUATIONS OF SUCH AREAS DIFFER FROM NONCRIMINALS' EVALUATIONS; AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CRIMINALS' EVALUATIONS OF DIFFERENT PLACES AND THEIR CHOICE OF LOCALES FOR COMMITTING OFFENSES. DATA ON A SAMPLE OF 83 CONVENTIONAL PROPERTY CRIMINALS WAS USED IN THE STUDY. THE SAMPLE, WHO HAD COMMITTED THEIR OFFENSES IN OKLAHOMA CITY, WAS DRAWN FROM THREE OF THE STATES CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS AND WAS COMPOSED OF 45 WHITE AND 38 BLACK OFFENDERS. THE AREAS WHICH CONSTITUTED THE GEOGRAPHIC UNITS OF ANALYSIS WERE 15 NEIGHBORHOODS OR AREAS OF THE CITY WHICH RANGED FROM LOW TO HIGH SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS AND WERE INDIVIDUALLY RECOGNIZABLE TO THE AVERAGE RESIDENT BY A PARTICULAR NAME. RESPONDENTS WERE ADMINISTERED AN INSTRUMENT WHICH ASKED THEM TO RESPOND TO A SET OF SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIAL BIPOLAR SCALES IN REFERENCE TO EACH GEOGRAPHIC AREA. INDIVIDUAL SCALES IN THE QUESTIONNAIRE MEASURED DIRECTIONALITY AND INTENSITY OF REACTION. THE PERCEPTUAL STRUCTURES OF ALL FOUR GROUPS SURVEYED (BLACK AND WHITE NONCRIMINALS AND BLACK AND WHITE CRIMINALS) WERE FAIRLY CONSONANT WITH EXPECTATIONS CONCERNING THEIR OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN THAT ENVIRONMENT. EXAMINATION OF THE LINKAGES BETWEEN PERCEPTIONS AND BEHAVIOR FOR THE CRIMINAL SAMPLE SHOWED THAT FOR BOTH GROUPS, THREE-QUARTERS OF THE VARIATION IN THE SPATIAL LOCATION OF THEIR CRIMES ACCOUNTED FOR BY THEIR PERCEPTUAL DIMENSIONS. CRIMES COMMITTED BY THE WHITE SAMPLE TENDED TO BE SKEWED TOWARD AREAS WHICH THEY SAW AS MORE LIKELY FOR SUCCESS, MORE FAMILIAR, AND AS LOW IN SOCIOECONOMIC STATE. THE FAMILIARITY DIMENSION WAS OF OVERRIDING IMPORTANCE AS A PREDICTOR OF THE BLACK CRIMINALS' CRIMES, WHILE THE SOCIAL STATUS DIMENSION HAD A MORE MODERATE BUT STILL IMPORTANT. THE STRATEGY DIMENSION WAS A NEGLIGIBLE PREDICTOR. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)...ELW