NCJ Number
205994
Journal
Sociological Spectrum Volume: 24 Issue: 4 Dated: July-August 2004 Pages: 507-533
Date Published
July 2004
Length
27 pages
Annotation
This study explored the relationship between race and serious crime in urban neighborhoods.
Abstract
The relationship between race and crime employ data aggregated at the city level that show that high proportions of Blacks indicate high levels of crime. The findings challenge the accounts of crime based on subculture and is consistent with accounts based on the social and economic structure of communities. In previous studies there are two general responses. The first ignores or minimizes race, treating even strong effects of racial composition as control variables outside the scope of theoretical interest. The second response is illustrated by Land et al. 1990). In their own analysis, percentage Black is the most consistent predictor of homicide rates for U.S. cities and States. These two responses might be due to a reluctance to discuss openly a potentially stigmatizing and controversial finding. Structural theories include a variety of emphases, sometimes in opposition to one another for particular analytical purposes, but they are not mutually exclusive models. The results show that the association between block group racial composition and crime rates is due to an underlying association between serious crime and structural factors that are often implicated in the Black urban experience. Crime at the block level is caused by socioeconomic factors such as poverty, unemployment, and inequality, all variables that reflect the degree of economic deprivation in the block neighborhoods. Future research must investigate the reasons for this community level association with more detailed information on the kinds of theft and the residence of the perpetrators. tables, references, appendix