Delinquency and the Urban Structure (From Crime and Measures Against Crime in the City, P 7-30, 1990, Per-Olof H Wikstrom, ed. -- See NCJ-127626)

• NCJ Number: 127627
• Author(s): P-O H Wikstrom
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 24 pages
• Sale Source: National Council for Crime Prevention
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: Sweden

Annotation

The relationship of juvenile delinquency to urbanization is examined in terms of a model that emphasizes the roles of social control and opportunities for criminality and using data from a study of delinquency in different residential districts in Stockholm, Sweden in 1982.

Abstract

The model emphasizes that the size, density, and heterogeneity of the population affect social interactions and social control. In addition, the number and attractiveness of suitable targets for crime vary among districts. The importance of these factors is supported by the Stockholm data, which show significant variations in the rates and structure of crime. These findings imply that districts of a city may need to vary widely in the types of crime prevention measures they take. In addition, further information is needed regarding the roles of the neighborhood, the family, and the school in the development of delinquency among children and youth. Figures and 69 references