NCJ Number
136379
Journal
Journal of Quantitative Criminology Volume: 8 Issue: 1 Dated: special issue (March 1992) Pages: 95-112
Date Published
1992
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This study investigated the relation between neighborhood characteristics and police-recorded crime for the city of Utrecht in the Netherlands and also looked at offender mobility.
Abstract
Neighborhood-level data for 1984 and 1987 on several violent and property crimes were obtained from the local police department. Neighborhoods were characterized by four dimensions: opportunity structure, socioeconomic status, housing type, and single adult households. Four crime variables were constructed and studied: violence, vandalism, residential burglary, and other property crime. Data were also obtained on 1,036 offenders who were arrested for one or more of the four crime types in 1984. Highest crime rates were found in the center of the city. In general, inner city neighborhoods were characterized by suitable targets and relative anonymity. For the other residential neighborhoods, violent crime and vandalism prevailed in lower socioeconomic status areas. Residential burglary occurred more in neighborhoods dominated by single-person households. Other property crime was related to the extra opportunity offered in residential neighborhoods, the dominance of single-person households, and low socioeconomic status. Finally, more experienced and somewhat older offenders resided primarily in lower socioeconomic status neighborhoods. With respect to offender mobility, most crimes in the inner city were committed by nonresidents. Violence and vandalism were more often committed by local offenders in residential neighborhoods. Most residential burglaries and other property crimes, however, were committed by outsiders. Supplemental data on neighborhood crime rates are appended. 38 references and 5 tables