Increase In Violent Crime Research Articles

Murder, political resources, and women’s political success

This analysis tests overlooked sociological hypotheses about women’s presence in the state legislatures and the House of Representatives. Stereotypes about women suggest that shifts in social conditions affect these political outcomes by making such stereotypes more or less salient. Findings indicate that beliefs about female competencies—such as women’s purported unwillingness to endorse violent solutions—should reduce support for female candidates when increases in violent crime create demands for increasingly severe punishments. Since women also are typecast as being more protective of vulnerable populations than males, states with larger minority populations should have additional women in both legislatures. Pooled time-series models based on 1127 state-years show that fewer women were present in the state legislatures or in state delegations to the House after increases in the murder rates. States with larger minority populations, however, had more women in these two legislative bodies. Our results support claims that under researched social conditions produce political climates that either benefit or harm women who seek these offices.

It Is Not Always Black and White

Criminological research has consistently found evidence that residential instability leads to increases in violent crime, but little research assesses whether a specific type of residential turnove...

Overview of: “The Impact of Drug Market Pulling Levers Policing on Neighborhood Violence: An Evaluation of the High Point Drug Market Intervention”

Research Summary Pulling levers policing draws upon the focused deterrence framework, which has shown considerable promise when directed at youth, gun, and gang offenders. However, much less is known about the viability of pulling levers when applied to different contexts as well as to diverse groups of offenders. We examine the High Point (North Carolina) Drug Market Intervention (DMI), the first site to use pulling levers as a place‐based policing approach to disrupt a series of open‐air drug markets across the city. Eleven years of longitudinal data are analyzed by using difference‐in‐difference panel regression analyses combined with finite mixture estimation as a means to test for divergence in violent crime patterns. Several key, although inconsistent, findings are presented. First, we found a statistically significant reduction in violent offenses in specific high‐crime places (i.e., high‐trajectory census blocks) located across the different targeted neighborhoods compared with the remainder of High Point, and relative to comparable nontargeted areas. Second, the citywide violent crime rate actually increased after a series of interventions unfolded, which may suggest limitations with the approach. Finally, trend analyses indicated the strategy had different levels of violent crime impact throughout unique geographic contexts.Policy Implications Rather than arresting every offender identified as having participated in illicit drug trafficking across various geographic contexts within the city, officials in High Point decided to invite low‐risk drug offenders to community notification sessions in order to change their perceived risk of punishment as well as to mobilize community members across the different targeted neighborhoods. The suggestive evidence of potential, although limited, violent crime impact illustrates that this type of policing strategy may hold considerable promise. This interpretation gains credence when considered with prior evaluations of the DMI approach that illustrated the potential for reducing drug‐related crime and in light of reports of improved police–community relations. The inconsistent findings across all locations and the overall city increase in violent crime toward the end of the study period, however, raise several concerns when interpreting study results. Additionally, our findings suggest that further replications should include systematic problem‐identification, process measures, and more precise research designs.

Juventude violenta: processos, retrocessos e novos percursos

There is a need to include dimensions other than poverty to explain the alarming increase in violent crime among young Brazilian males beginning in the late 1970s, the author highlights that poverty should not be taken as the (economic) determination of crime in a determinist approach by objectivist sociology that considers causality in a single direction, excluding subjectivity and indetermination. Working with the model of complexity, she reconstructs part of the larger debate on the rise in crime and violence in the city of Rio de Janeiro. She points to new theories that could shed light on the hottest issues in this debate, such as the theory of subjective formation in the warrior ethos (Norbert Elias), informalization (Cas Wouters), and the ecological theories focusing more on the idea of social disorganization, but seeking the vulnerabilities and inconsistencies in the socialization processes for youth in the family and neighborhoods, taking into account the various forms of neighborhood association, the governmental and nongovernmental organizations working in these neighborhoods, and the supply of public services to educate and serve young people.

The impact of small changes in bar closing hours on violence. The Norwegian experience from 18 cities

AimsTo estimate the effect on violence of small changes in closing hours for on-premise alcohol sales, and to assess whether a possible effect is symmetrical.Design, setting, and participantsA quasi-experimental design drawing on data from 18 Norwegian cities that have changed (extended or restricted) the closing hours for on-premise alcohol sales. All changes were ≤ 2 hours.MeasurementsClosing hours were measured in terms of the latest permitted hour of on-premise trading, ranging from 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. The outcome measure comprised police-reported assaults that occurred in the city centre between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. at weekends. Assaults outside the city centre during the same time window should not be affected by changes in closing hours but function as a proxy for potential confounders, and was thus included as a control variable. The data spanned the period Q1 2000–Q3 2010, yielding 774 observations.FindingsOutcomes from main analyses suggested that each 1-hour extension of closing hours was associated with a statistically significant increase of 4.8 assaults (95% CI 2.60, 6.99) per 100 000 inhabitants per quarter (i.e. an increase of about 16%). Findings indicate that the effect is symmetrical. These findings were consistent across three different modelling techniques.ConclusionIn Norway, each additional 1-hour extension to the opening times of premises selling alcohol is associated with a 16% increase in violent crime.

전자감시를 통한 범죄예방과 제도의 개선방안

Recently, the government and national assembly are pouring out various measures for prevention of crime. Especially increase in violent crimes aggravates malaise factors of our society. Accordingly they are pouring out diverse measures that did not exist before. Various policies to prevent crimes actually particularly such as electronic surveillance system against specific criminals, chemical castration law, making personal information of sexual criminals public and establishment of law about use of DNA information are being enforced. Presently various policies to prevent crimes are being prepared. Among them there is electronic surveillance system being enforced since September 2007. The electronic surveillance system was introduced as effective control method against specific sexual offenders that are appeared as serious social problems recently. Such electronic surveillance system has meaning that criminal control system is newly established. The electronic surveillance system should be propelled in combination with order of attending class, order of treatment, service order and vocational training. And in employment of the object of electronic surveillance, the interest without disadvantage or prejudice of local residents can help economic stability and rehabilitation of the object persons so adequate promotion of the correction authorities is also necessary.

Crime in post‐Katrina Houston: the effects of moral panic on emergency planning

This study used a mixed methods approach to estimate whether a moral panic occurred after Hurricane Katrina forced the evacuations of more than 250,000 people to Houston, Texas. The study viewed data from the Houston Police Department combined with a qualitative review of references of criminal activity in local print media. In total, over 8,500 lines of text were analysed to discern themes associated with media representations of the influence of evacuees on the city of Houston. There was little evidence of statistically significant increases in crime over the months following the evacuations. There was, however, evidence that evacuees, principally from New Orleans, were blamed for perceived increases in violent crime and lawlessness. There are also significant policy implications for state, local and federal governments. In particular, the policies of the Federal Emergency Management Agency were blamed for at least some of the perceived crime attributed to Katrina evacuees.

The Psychological Consequences to Adolescents of Exposure to Gang Violence in the Community: An Integrated Review of the Literature

Gang violence affects many adolescents in the United States, and there has been an increase in violent crimes against adolescents in recent years. A literature review examined studies related to gang violence. Little research has focused on adolescents' exposure to gang violence and its effects on adolescents' mental health. Adolescents develop internalizing symptoms and externalizing behaviors after exposure to violence; but other factors influence adolescents' exposure and reaction to violence. With the increase in gang violence over the years, more research is needed on gang violence and its effects on adolescents and their mental health.

Violent Crime (and Suicide) in Imperial Germany, 1883—1902: Quantitative Analyses and a Durkheimian Interpretation

The article seeks to bridge the gap between the history and the sociology of violent crime and to contribute to the ongoing debate on the relationship between modernization and (criminal) violence. In particular, it demonstrates the usefulness of a theoretical perspective derived from Durkheim’s work. Durkheim’s thesis that the erosion of (traditional) collectivism leads to a significant reduction in violent crime is being tested and confirmed in an empirical analysis of crime data that originally were collected for some 1,000 counties and cities of the German Reich in late 19th century. The distinction between developmental and structural effects is crucial to the argument. Supportive evidence is provided by an additional analysis of suicide data. It is argued that Durkheim’s perspective also helps explain the more recent increase in violent crime during the second half of the 20th century. For this purpose, the distinction between collectivism and individualism needs to be supplemented by a modified version of Durkheim’s additional distinction of moral (cooperative) versus egoistic (disintegrative) individualism.

Violent crime, entrepreneurship, and cities

This paper estimates the impact of violent crime on the location of business activity and entrepreneurship in five US cities. Central to our analysis is the idea that different sectors of the economy will sort into high- and low-crime areas depending on their relative sensitivity to crime. We illustrate this by comparing retail industries to their wholesale counterparts, and high-end restaurants to low-end eateries. Because retail industries are dependent on pedestrian shoppers, they are expected to be especially sensitive to violent crime. Because high-end restaurants are dependent on evening business, they are expected to be especially sensitive to violent crime over the prime dinner hours. Findings indicate that retail, wholesale, high- and low-end restaurants are all more active in areas with higher local rates of violent crime, even after conditioning on an extensive set of model controls. This could arise because violent crime is attracted to our target industries. This also likely reflects that other sectors of the economy outbid our target industries for safer locations (e.g. residential). Further analysis confirms such sorting behavior. Retailers are more likely to locate in safer locations as compared to wholesalers in the same industry. Among restaurants, an increase in violent crime during the prime dinner hours equivalent to the sample max/min range would decrease the high-end share of local restaurants by roughly 40 percentage points. These findings indicate that entrepreneurs take violent crime into account when bidding for locations within a city. These finding also indicate that efforts to make distressed portions of cities more vibrant must give consideration to the need to ensure that such areas are safe.

Women in Guatemala’s Metropolitan Area: Violence, Law, and Social Justice

In this article I examine the legal framework for addressing violence against women in post war Guatemala. Since the signing of the Peace Accords in 1996, judicial reform in Guatemala has included the passing of laws in the area of women‘s human rights, aimed at eliminating discrimination and violence against women. These laws constitute a response to and have occurred concurrently to an increase in violent crime against women, particularly in the form of mass rapes and murders. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in Guatemala‘s Metropolitan Area, this paper juxtaposes the laws for addressing violence against women to Guatemalan women‘s complex, multilayered and multi-dimensional life experiences. The latter expose the limitations of strictly legal understandings of the phenomenon of gender-based violence, and highlight the need for broad social justice approaches that take into account the different structures of violence, inequality, and injustice present in women‘s lives.

Penrose's Law revisited: The relationship between mental institution beds, prison population and crime rate

In 1939, Lionel Penrose published a cross-sectional study from 18 European countries, including the Nordic, in which he demonstrated an inverse relationship between the number of mental hospital beds and the number of prisoners. He also found strong negative correlations between the number of mental hospital beds and the number of deaths attributed to murder. He argued that by increasing the number of mental institution beds, a society could reduce serious crimes and imprisonment rates. The aim of the study was to test Penrose's theories longitudinally by monitoring the capacity of all psychiatric institutions and prisons in a society over time. From official statistics, we collected and systematized all relevant information regarding the number of mental institution beds and prisoners in Norway during the years 1930–2004, along with major crime statistics for the same period. During the years 1930–59, there was a 2% population-adjusted increase in mental institution beds and a 30% decrease in the prison population. During 1960–2004, there was a 74% population-adjusted decrease in mental institution beds and a 52% increase in the prison population. The same period saw a 500% increase in overall crime and a 900% increase in violent crimes, with a concurrent 94% increase in the size of the country's police force. Penrose's law proved remarkably robust in the longitudinal perspective. As opposed to Penrose, however, we argue that the rise in crime rates only to a very limited extent can be attributed to mental health de-institutionalization.

Evaluating Recent Changes in Homicide and Robbery Rates

This paper evaluates the Police Executive Research Forum's (PERF) recent warnings of a “gathering storm” of criminal violence in the United States. We argue that increases in violent crime during 2005 and 2006 were the expected result of year-to-year changes in the economy and imprisonment. Our argument is supported by an analysis of changes in homicide and robbery rates between 1970 and 2006 showing that short-run variation in homicide and robbery rates are a function of changes in imprisonment, the age composition of the population, and the economy. But PERF's warning of a new crime wave may simply have been premature. The steep economic downturn of 2008 portends a crime rise that may dwarf the 2005 and 2006 increases. Local communities and criminal justice practitioners should demand better research on crime trends that can help them evaluate current practice and plan for the future.

Homelessness, Mental Illness, and Criminal Activity: Examining Patterns Over Time

This study examined whether street homelessness, sheltered homelessness, and the severity of psychological symptoms predicted non-violent and violent crime among 207 mentally ill participants who were homeless at baseline. Participants were interviewed at 9 time points over 4 years. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was used to examine whether changes in homelessness status and symptom severity predicted changes in criminal activity over time. Results indicated that homelessness both on the streets and in shelters and psychological symptom severity predicted increases in non-violent crime. Sheltered homelessness and symptom severity predicted increases in violent crime, although street homelessness did not. A separate mediational analysis with 181 participants showed that the relationship between diagnosis of a psychotic disorder and both non-violent and violent criminal activity was partially mediated through the severity of psychotic symptoms. Implications for research and intervention are discussed.

Was an increase in cocaine use among injecting drug users in New South Wales, Australia, accompanied by an increase in violent crime?

BackgroundA sharp reduction in heroin supply in Australia in 2001 was followed by a large but transient increase in cocaine use among injecting drug users (IDU) in Sydney. This paper assesses whether the increase in cocaine use among IDU was accompanied by increased rates of violent crime as occurred in the United States in the 1980s. Specifically, the paper aims to examine the impact of increased cocaine use among Sydney IDU upon police incidents of robbery with a weapon, assault and homicide.MethodsData on cocaine use among IDU was obtained from the Illicit Drug Reporting System (IDRS). Monthly NSW Police incident data on arrests for cocaine possession/use, robbery offences, homicides, and assaults, were obtained from the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research. Time series analysis was conducted on the police data series where possible. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with representatives from law enforcement and health agencies about the impacts of cocaine use on crime and policing.ResultsThere was a significant increase in cocaine use and cocaine possession offences in the months immediately following the reduction in heroin supply. There was also a significant increase in incidents of robbery where weapons were involved. There were no increases in offences involving firearms, homicides or reported assaults.ConclusionThe increased use of cocaine among injecting drug users following the heroin shortage led to increases in violent crime. Other States and territories that also experienced a heroin shortage but did not show any increases in cocaine use did not report any increase in violent crimes. The violent crimes committed did not involve guns, most likely because of its stringent gun laws, in contrast to the experience of American cities that have experienced high rates of cocaine use and violent crime.

The Dynamics of Criminal Behavior: Evidence from Weather Shocks

The persistence of criminal activity is well documented. While such serial correlation may be evidence of social interactions in the production of crime, it may also be due to the persistence of unobserved determinants of crime. Moreover, there are good reasons to believe that, particularly over a short time horizon, there may actually be a negative relationship between crime rates in a particular area due to displacement. In this paper, we exploit the correlation between weather and crime to examine the short-run dynamics of criminal behavior. Drawing on crime-level data from the FBI's National Incident-Based Reporting System, we construct a panel of weekly crime data for 116 jurisdictions. Using the plausibly exogenous variation in lagged crime rates due to unexpected weather shocks, we find that the strong positive serial correlation documented in OLS is reversed. A ten percent increase in violent crime in one week is associated with a 2.6 percent reduction in crime the following week. The corresponding reduction for property crime is 2.0 percent. Additional displacement appears to occur over a longer time horizon. Furthermore, the results do not appear to be driven by persistence in weather conditions over time or displacement of non-criminal economic activity. These findings suggest that the long-run impact of temporary crime prevention efforts may be smaller than the short-run effects.

Recent advances in the treatment of gunshot fractures of the humeral shaft.

The increase in violent crime has lead to an increase in gunshot-induced fractures in the United States. Injuries to the upper extremity are common. The treatment of gunshot injuries depends on the extent of soft tissue disruption and the type and location of fracture. Most of these injuries are a result of low-energy gunshot wounds that may be treated conservatively under the appropriate conditions. Low-energy fractures that require operative stabilization may be done with predictable results for achieving union with intramedullary fixation or compression plating. Complex open fractures from gunshot wounds associated with neurovascular injuries present a therapeutic challenge to the orthopaedic surgeon. The fractures associated with these injuries often are comminuted and unstable. Bone loss is common. Soft tissue disruption plays a more important role in high-energy gunshot-induced fractures. In these cases, external fixation is the treatment of choice for stabilization. Recent advances in the use of external fixation have led to quick fracture stabilization, stability for vascular repair, and access to the wound for debridement and subsequent soft tissue surgery.

Political Competition and Violence in Mexico: Hierarchical Social Control in Local Patronage Structures

Many countries that have recently undergone transitions to democracy have experienced increases in violent crime. Yet sociological theories have generally failed to consider the impact of political factors on crime. The author examines the relation between greater electoral competition and homicide at the subnational level in a country undergoing an uneven transition to democracy. In societies characterized by the presence of patronage networks, social and political changes that undermine the source of unequal exchange between actors at different levels in the social hierarchy result in a temporary loss of social control and an increase in crime. The relation between electoral competition and homicide is tested using electoral results from a sample of 1,800 Mexican municipalities. Greater electoral competition is associated with higher homicide rates across municipalities and over time, even after controlling for standard correlates of violent crime. Consistent with the hypothesis that the increase is due to the disruption of patronage networks, this association is present only in rural areas where patron-client relations are more common.

Political Competition and Violence in Mexico: Hierarchical Social Control in Local Patronage Structures

Many countries that have recently undergone transitions to democracy have experienced increases in violent crime. Yet sociological theories have generally failed to consider the impact of political factors on crime. The author examines the relation between greater electoral competition and homicide at the subnational level in a country undergoing an uneven transition to democracy. In societies characterized by the presence of patronage networks, social and political changes that undermine the source of unequal exchange between actors at different levels in the social hierarchy result in a temporary loss of social control and an increase in crime. The relation between electoral competition and homicide is tested using electoral results from a sample of 1,800 Mexican municipalities. Greater electoral competition is associated with higher homicide rates across municipalities and over time, even after controlling for standard correlates of violent crime. Consistent with the hypothesis that the increase is due to the disruption of patronage networks, this association is present only in rural areas where patron-client relations are more common.

Trends in violent crime: a comparison between police statistics and victimization surveys

Usually, two measures are used to describetrends in violent crime: police statistics andvictimization surveys. Both are available inthe Netherlands. In this contribution, we willfirst provide a description of the trends inviolent crime. It appears that both types ofstatistics reflect a different trend in thedevelopment of violence over the past twodecades. According to police statistics,violent crime has increased considerably,whilst the victimization surveys show thatviolent crime has not undergone any increase.In the second part of the paper, a number ofhypotheses are considered which could explainthe discrepancies between violence asregistered by the police and violence shown invictimization surveys. Methodological problemsinvolving both data sources are also discussed.In summary, we suggest that the increase inviolent crime as shown by police statistics isin part due to more professional registrationbased on an increased willingness to reportcrimes, and increased computerization, whichfacilitates registration. We suggest thatalthough violence may have increased, thisincrease is not likely to be as high assuggested by police statistics