Ecological Evidence of the Hardening of the Inner City (From Metropolitan Crime Patterns, P 27-53, 1986, Robert M Figlio, et al, eds. See NCJ-102783)

• NCJ Number: 102785
• Author(s): L W Shannon
• Date Published: 1986
• Length: 27 pages
• Grant Number(s): 79-NI-AX-0081
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Justice (NIJ)
• Sale Source: Criminal Justice Press/Willow Tree Press
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Path analysis, an adaptation of multiple regression analysis, focuses on causality and forms the basis of a study of the changing relationship of juvenile delinquency and adult crime to the ecological structure of Racine, Wis., from the 1950's to the 1970's.

Abstract

The research used neighborhood boundaries drawn to produce 65 relatively homogeneous ecological units. Neighborhood characteristics considered were housing quality, percentage of black population, type of land use, number of commercial establishments that would be crime targets, and rate of residential vacancies. The analysis also included social status, racial segregation, family status, transiency, and levels of delinquency and crime. The process of urban growth and development generated an expansion of delinquency and adult crime in old and new areas. A disproportionate share of residents engaged in crime as an alternative way of responding to changes in the community's social or economic structure. High offense rates tended to stabilize in the inner city, and areas in transition experienced increasing crime rates. Data tables, maps, 18 reference notes. (Author abstract modified)