NCJ Number
212132
Journal
Criminal Justice Studies: A Critical Journal of Crime, Law and Society Volume: 18 Issue: 3 Dated: September 2005 Pages: 215-235
Date Published
September 2005
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This study examined whether victims and offenders involved in non-lethal violent crimes were similar in terms of individual, neighborhood, and situational characteristics.
Abstract
While the criminological research literature has provided evidence suggesting that victims and offenders involved in violent crime share certain demographic characteristics, reside in the same neighborhoods, and have similar lifestyles, this research has not compared the similarities of victims and offenders involved in the same incidents. The current study drew data from a law enforcement database in Bernalillo County, NM, to examine whether 1,248 victims and 1,735 offenders involved in the same aggravated battery incidents (n = 1,015) in 2001 shared individual, neighborhood, and situational similarities. Under examination were demographic variables, histories of violent offending and risky behaviors, and neighborhood characteristics. Results of statistical analyses indicated that the victims and offenders involved in the same non-lethal violent incidents lived in socially disorganized neighborhoods, engaged in risky lifestyles, and had similar histories of violent offending. The findings are consistent with criminological work in the lifestyle-routine activities framework. Implications for violence reduction work are discussed. Tables, notes, references