NCJ Number
124313
Journal
Justice Quarterly Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1990) Pages: 57-67
Date Published
1990
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This article explores the effects of permeability -- the degree of openness to traffic from outside -- on neighborhood burglary rates in Norfolk, Virginia in 1987.
Abstract
The hypothesis holds that variation in permeability on heavily traveled throughways will be linked to variation in neighborhood burglary rates. Permeability is found to account for a significant proportion of the variance in burglary rates when structural density, socioeconomic effects, and the influence of adjacent neighborhoods are controlled. The analysis suggests that permeability is as important as variation in economic conditions, neighborhood instability, and housing density in determining burglary rates. The degree to which residential areas are accessible to automobile traffic may create the appearance of openness and vulnerability which makes them attractive to potential burglars. 1 table and 37 references. (Author abstract modified)