NCJ Number
153394
Journal
Public Interest Issue: 117 Dated: (Fall 1994) Pages: 3-56
Date Published
1994
Length
54 pages
Annotation
While the poverty gap between black and white Americans may be shrinking, the gap in rates of criminal victimization is growing.
Abstract
Surveys and statistics on arrest rates, violent crime rates, and fear of crime among urban, rural, and suburban residents show that black Americans are victimized at a disproportionate rate and that inner-city residents have the highest, and most justifiable, fear of crime. Crime in America is predominantly intraracial; 84 percent of single-offender violent crimes committed by blacks are committed against blacks, and 73 percent of violent crimes committed by whites are committed against whites. This article recommends four measures to close the black-white crime gap: (1) take remedial measures to secure inner-city neighborhoods; (2) put more police on inner-city streets; (3) lock up violent and repeat inner-city criminals; and (4) remove severely neglected and abused children from inner-city homes. The article is followed by five commentaries.