Spread of Violent Crime From City to Countryside, 1955 to 1975

• NCJ Number: 86652
• Journal: Rural Sociology Volume: 45 Issue: 3 Dated: (1980) Pages: 416-434
• Author(s): C S Fischer
• Date Published: 1980
• Length: 19 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: University of California, Berkeley; University of California
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This paper addresses the issues of whether cultural differences between communities of varying degrees of urbanism are declining in modern society, taking as a case in point acts of violent crime.

Abstract

It contends that, contrary to 'massification' theories, between 1955 and 1975 differences in rates of criminal behavior between large and small communities actually increased, and the pattern of changes is consistent with a specific alternative theory about urban-rural differences. This theory holds that cultural change is continually generated in major urban centers, diffuses to smaller cities, and then to the rural hinterland. The paper presents empirical material on criminal behavior, largely consisting of national crime data aggregated to the level of categories of communities and of California crime data aggregated to the level of specific counties. The paper also presents a theory of urban-to-rural diffusion, but this theory is not definitely proven by the data. Notes, tables, graphs, and about 40 references are supplied. (Author abstract modified)