NCJ Number
163881
Journal
Journal of Crime and Justice Volume: 19 Issue: 2 Dated: (1996) Pages: 49-66
Date Published
1996
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This study combined household-level measures and routine activities, along with household-level perceptions of the neighborhood and crime prevention behaviors, to better predict larceny and burglary.
Abstract
Data were derived from the National Crime Survey, Victim Risk Supplement (VRS), a nationally representative sample of 14,258 households in the United States. Conducted in 1983, the VRS was a one-time survey administered in conjunction with the larger National Crime Victimization Survey. The VRS contained three levels of information (household, individual, and incident). One person in each household was chosen to answer questions about household-level information such as family income and crimes committed against the household such as larceny and burglary. All persons in the household were also asked questions about sociodemographic characteristics and victimization experiences. Using the household as the unit of analysis and employing a multilevel model of household victimization, findings supported routine activity theory, the use of disaggregated measures of household victimization, and the existence of unique opportunity structures for larceny and burglary. Different opportunity structures existed for larceny and burglary, and multilevel analysis revealed the complexity of opportunity structures for crime events. Differences in opportunity structures for larceny and burglary primarily accounted for differences in the ability of routine activity theory to explain them. 35 references, 3 notes, and 2 tables