Neighborhood Crime Rates Research Articles

Social Disorganization and Neighborhood Fear: Examining the Intersection of Individual, Community, and County Characteristics

Fear has long been studied as a consequence of crime given the consistent and ubiquitous nature of fear as a reaction and the systematic variations in its consequences. Past research has shown significant variations in fear of crime at both the individual and ecological level. Here we implement a multi-level approach to understanding potential interactions between perceived safety in one’s neighborhood in relation to social disorganization indicators at the neighborhood level and crime rates at the county level. The nationally representative sample data (n = 2,610) used in this analysis combines individual level data collected in 2006 from the Panel Study of Religion and Ethnicity (PS-ARE) with ecological level data at the tract and county level from the 2000 US Census. The findings suggest a three level interaction negating the well known protection hypothesis of marriage and crime; this essentially means that as being married or cohabitating decreases the negative effects of being in a community with a high level of familial disruption (percent of divorced) increases, but that effect is substantively negatively tempered as the violent crime rate of the county rises.

Walking to the bus: perceived versus actual walking distance to bus stops for older adults

The walking trip from an origin or destination to a bus stop or transit station can be a barrier to riding transit for older adults (over age 60) who may walk more slowly than others or experience declining physical mobility. This article examines the relationship between transit ridership and proximity to fixed-route transit stations using survey data for older adults in Buffalo and Erie County, New York. Demographic and socio-economic characteristics—including age, sex, race, income, possessing a driver’s license, frequency of leaving home, and personal mobility limitations—are tested but do not display, in bi-variate analysis, statistically significant differences for transit riders versus non-transit riders. However, features of the built environment—including distance (actual and perceived) between home and transit stop, transit service level, population density, number of street intersections, metropolitan location, and neighborhood crime (property and violent) rate—display statistically significant differences for transit riders versus non-transit riders. Both objective and perceived walking distances to access fixed-route transit show statistically significant differences between transit riders and non-transit riders. Average walking distance from home to transit for non-transit riders—who mostly live in suburbs—is three times greater than average walking distance between home and the nearest transit stop for transit riders—who mostly live in the central city. When asked how near a bus stop is to their homes, transit riders slightly overestimate the actual distance, while non-transit riders underestimate the distance.

Does fringe banking exacerbate neighborhood crime rates?

Research Summary Payday lenders have become the banker of choice for many residents of poor and working-class neighborhoods in recent years, often trapping the most vulnerable residents in a cycle of debt. The substantial costs that customers of these fringe bankers incur have long been documented and have been the subject of much policy debate as part of the controversy over financial services generally in recent years. Yet there is reason to believe there are broader community costs that all residents pay in those neighborhoods where payday lenders are concentrated, costs which have not yet been recognized or taken into consideration in policy debates. One such cost may be an increase in crime. Social disorganization theory provides reason to expect that where payday lending proliferates, neighborhood crime rates increase. In a study of Seattle, Washington, a city that has seen a typical increase in the number of payday lenders, we find that a concentration of payday lending leads to higher violent and property crime rates, controlling on a range of factors traditionally associated with neighborhood crime. The findings suggest important policy recommendations that could ameliorate these costs. Policy Implications Several steps could be taken by state and federal financial regulatory officials (including legislators and regulators), private industry and nonprofit financial service providers, and law enforcement agencies to help eliminate the predatory practices ofpayday lenders, along with the subsequent community costs, and to provide access to small consumer loans on an equitable basis. Among the steps that could be initiated immediately are the following: 1. Congress could cap the interest rate thatpayday lenders are allowed to charge at 36% as several states have done and Congress did for loans to members of the military and their families; 2. Credit unions could, profitably, offer small loan programs that enable their members to access credit on reasonable terms and to save and accumulate wealth as some community development credit unions are currently doing; 3. Federal banking officials could provide Community Reinvestment Act credit to depository agencies that provide small consumer loans on equitable terms in order to encourage larger lenders to offer such services; 4. Stateandlocalgovernmentscouldenactzoninglawslimitingthenumberanddensity ofpayday lenders as several have already done. 5. Financial service regulators could establish suitability standards requiring lenders to offer only those loans that are in the financial interests of the borrowers and 6. Law enforcement officials could provide additional service in neighborhoods where payday lending outlets are concentrated. There may well be additional community costs that have not been recognized To further understand the range of costs associated with payday lending, we propose the following research agenda. 1. Property values may be adversely affected as crime rates increase and those costs should be estimated; 2. Owners ofpayday lending outlets often reside outside of the neighborhoods in which the businesses are located, resulting in a drain of capital from those areas that should be quantified; 3. The costs in other communities beyond Seattle should be determined; 4. To complement this snapshot of Seattle, longitudinal research should be conducted Access to a wide range of financial services on an equitable basis has become the subject of much policy debate and social science research in recent years. Payday lenders constitute part of a network of fringe bankers that have been concentrated in low-income, minority communities but have begun to spread throughout metropolitan areas. Costs to borrowers have been documented with some precision. But broader community costs have not been subject to scrutiny. That payday lending is associated with crime should, in fact, come as no surprise. How we choose to respond to that connection remains to be determined.

Overview of “Does fringe banking exacerbate neighborhood crime rates? Investigating the social ecology of payday lending”

Research Summary Payday lenders have become the banker of choice for many residents of poor and working-class neighborhoods in recent years, often trapping the most vulnerable residents in a cycle of debt. The substantial costs that customers of these fringe bankers incur have long been documented and have been the subject of much policy debate as part of the controversy over financial services generally in recent years. Yet there is reason to believe there are broader community costs that all residents pay in those neighborhoods where payday lenders are concentrated, costs which have not yet been recognized or taken into consideration in policy debates. One such cost may be an increase in crime. Social disorganization theory provides reason to expect that where payday lending proliferates, neighborhood crime rates increase. In a study of Seattle, Washington, a city that has seen a typical increase in the number of payday lenders, we find that a concentration of payday lending leads to higher violent and property crime rates, controlling on a range of factors traditionally associated with neighborhood crime. The findings suggest important policy recommendations that could ameliorate these costs. Policy Implications Several steps could be taken by state and federal financial regulatory officials (including legislators and regulators), private industry and nonprofit financial service providers, and law enforcement agencies to help eliminate the predatory practices of payday lenders, along with the subsequent community costs, and to provide access to small consumer loans on an equitable basis. Among the steps that could be initiated immediately are the following: 1 Congress could cap the interest rate that payday lenders are allowed to charge at 36% as several states have done and Congress did for loans to members of the military and their families; 2 Credit unions could, profitably, offer small loan programs that enable their members to access credit on reasonable terms and to save and accumulate wealth as some community development credit unions are currently doing; 3 Federal banking officials could provide Community Reinvestment Act credit to depository agencies that provide small consumer loans on equitable terms in order to encourage larger lenders to offer such services; 4 State and local governments could enact zoning laws limiting the number and density of payday lenders as several have already done. 5 Financial service regulators could establish suitability standards requiring lenders to offer only those loans that are in the financial interests of the borrowers; and 6 Law enforcement officials could provide additional service in neighborhoods where payday lending outlets are concentrated. There may well be additional community costs that have not been recognized. To further understand the range of costs associated with payday lending, we propose the following research agenda. 1 Property values may be adversely affected as crime rates increase and those costs should be estimated; 2 Owners of payday lending outlets often reside outside of the neighborhoods in which the businesses are located, resulting in a drain of capital from those areas that should be quantified; 3 The costs in other communities beyond Seattle should be determined; 4 To complement this snapshot of Seattle, longitudinal research should be conducted. Access to a wide range of financial services on an equitable basis has become the subject of much policy debate and social science research in recent years. Payday lenders constitute part of a network of fringe bankers that have been concentrated in low-income, minority communities but have begun to spread throughout metropolitan areas. Costs to borrowers have been documented with some precision. But broader community costs have not been subject to scrutiny. That payday lending is associated with crime should, in fact, come as no surprise. How we choose to respond to that connection remains to be determined.

Does fringe banking exacerbate neighborhood crime rates?

Criminology & Public PolicyVolume 10, Issue 2 p. 431-433 EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION Does fringe banking exacerbate neighborhood crime rates? Steven F. Messner, Steven F. Messner Senior Editor University at Albany, SUNYSearch for more papers by this author Steven F. Messner, Steven F. Messner Senior Editor University at Albany, SUNYSearch for more papers by this author First published: 03 April 2011 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9133.2011.00718.x Direct correspondence to Steven F. Messner, University at Albany, SUNY, 1400 Washington Ave. Arts & Sciences 351, University at Albany, Albany, NY 12222 (e-mail: [email protected]). Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Volume10, Issue2May 2011Pages 431-433 RelatedInformation

Individual Health Care System Distrust and Neighborhood Social Environment: How Are They Jointly Associated with Self-rated Health?

Americans' distrust in the health care system has increased in the past decades; however, little research has explored the impact of distrust on self-rated health and even less is known about whether neighborhood social environment plays a role in understanding the relationship between distrust and self-rated health. This study fills these gaps by investigating both the direct and moderating associations of neighborhood social environment with self-rated health. Our analysis is based on the 2008 Philadelphia Health Management Corporation's household survey and neighborhood-level data. Findings from multilevel logistic regression show that after controlling for individual- and neighborhood-level covariates, distrust is directly and adversely related to self-rated health, and that neighborhood social affluence and stability are directly and negatively associated with the odds of reporting poor/fair health. Neighborhood disadvantage and crime rates are not directly related to self-rated health, but increase the odds of having poor/fair health via distrust. Overall, our results suggest that macro-level actions can alter individual's perception of residential environment and lead to improved health. To improve the public health in an urban setting, rebuilding confidence in the health care system is integral, and the policies that help establish safe and cohesive neighborhoods may reduce the adverse effect of distrust on self-rated health.

Crime, neighborhood deprivation, and asthma: A GIS approach to define and assess neighborhoods

Exposure to neighborhood factors remains difficult to quantify when neighborhoods are often predefined and imprecisely measured. This study examines the association between neighborhood deprivation and participation in a community-based asthma case management (CM) program in Oakland, CA. We estimated neighborhoods by calculating walking distances of ▪, ▪ and ▪ miles around each child’s ( n = 2892) residence. The model assesses deprivation by the addition of weighted factors within a child’s neighborhood–crime rates, alcohol outlets, and eight 2000 US Census characteristics. The results illustrate that neighborhood deprivation is weakly associated with greater levels of program participation, but neighborhood education level, measured by percentage of residents with less than a high school education, is strongly associated with greater program participation (OR: 4.43, 95% CI: [1.23, 15.99]). Neighborhood deprivation factors were significantly different between neighborhoods defined by walking distances and census blockgroups (Wilcoxon-signed rank test: p < 0.05).

THE ROLE OF CRIME IN HOUSING UNIT RACIAL/ETHNIC TRANSITION*

Previous research frequently has observed a positive cross‐sectional relationship between racial/ethnic minorities and crime and generally has posited that this relationship is entirely because of the effect of minorities on neighborhood crime rates. This study posits that at least some of this relationship might be a result of the opposite effect—neighborhood crime increases the number of racial/ethnic minorities. This study employs a unique sample (the American Housing Survey neighborhood sample) focusing on housing units nested in microneighborhoods across three waves from 1985 to 1993. This format allows one to test and find that such racial/ethnic transformation occurs because of the following effects: First, White households that perceive more crime in the neighborhood or that live in microneighborhoods with more commonly perceived crime are more likely to move out of such neighborhoods. Second, Whites are significantly less likely to move into a housing unit in a microneighborhood with more commonly perceived crime. And third, African American and Latino households are more likely to move into such units.

When Space Matters: Spatial Dependence, Diagnostics, and Regression Models

For researchers analyzing geographically oriented data, such as neighborhood or county crime rates, a serious threat to validity is the violation of OLS regression assumptions due to the spatial clustering of values for the variables in the analysis. In such circumstances, OLS regression estimates may be biased and inefficient. However, analytic methods for spatial data analysis allow formal assessments of spatial autocorrelation, as well as maximum likelihood spatial regression models. This paper presents discussions of the underlying logic of spatial effects, the impact of spatial dependence on non‐spatial regression models, methods for assessing spatial dependence, the implementation of spatial regression models, and an illustration of the techniques presented. Additional discussion and references to more advanced spatial analytic techniques are provided.

A Dynamic View of Neighborhoods: The Reciprocal Relationship between Crime and Neighborhood Structural Characteristics

Prior research frequently observes a positive cross-sectional relationship between various neighborhood structural characteristics and crime rates, and attributes the causal explanation entirely to these structural characteristics. We question this assumption theoretically, proposing a household-level model showing that neighborhood crime might also change these structural characteristics. We test these hypotheses using data on census tracts in 13 cities over a ten-year period, and our cross-lagged models generally find that, if anything, crime is the stronger causal force in these possible relationships. Neighborhoods with more crime tend to experience increasing levels of residential instability, more concentrated disadvantage, a diminishing retail environment, and more African Americans ten years later. Although we find that neighborhoods with more concentrated disadvantage experience increases in violent and property crime, there is no evidence that residential instability or the presence of African Americans increases crime rates ten years later.

Congregations and Crime: Is the Spatial Distribution of Congregations Associated with Neighborhood Crime Rates?

Few studies have focused on how religious congregations are associated with crime rates, especially at the neighborhood level. Using data for more than 400 block groups in Indianapolis, we focus on the relationship between different types of congregations (e.g., evangelical Protestant, civically engaged) and eight different types of crime controlling for a variety of neighborhood characteristics. The results suggest that neighborhoods with more evangelical Protestant congregations have higher rates of both violent and property crimes. Neighborhoods with more mainline and black Protestant congregations have higher rates of property crimes, but not violent crimes. Finally, although civically engaged congregations are associated with lower neighborhood crime rates, the association may be limited to some types of property crimes. Therefore, the positive association between evangelical Protestant congregations and crime may be more general, and the negative association between civically engaged congregations and crime more limited, than previous research has suggested.

Banks and the Racial Patterning of Homicide: A Study of Chicago Neighborhoods

While bank investment is a driving force behind neighborhood viability, few studies have directly examined the effects of bank loan practices on neighborhood crime rates. This paper proposes that variation in residential bank loans helps explain the higher rates of homicide in minority neighborhoods in Chicago compared to white neighborhoods. It finds that black and Latino neighborhoods would experience fewer homicides if more financial capital were infused into these neighborhoods. These findings suggest that neighborhoods are shaped profoundly by the decisions of external economic actors.

The Creation of “We Are Neighbours”: Participatory Research and Recovery

Community-based participatory research is an enabling and empowering practice that is based in principles that overlap with those of mental health recovery. Using a participatory approach, an advocacy group called the Dream Team, whose members have mental health issues and live in supportive housing, planned and conducted a study of the neighbourhood impact of two supportive housing buildings in Toronto. The study found that tenants do not harm neighbourhood property values and crime rates, and that they do make important contributions to the strength of their neighbourhoods. This article demonstrates the strength of a self-directed collective of individuals who are prepared to challenge stigma and discrimination, and documents their use of participatory action research as a proactive strategy to contribute their knowledge to discussions that shape the communities, services, and politics that involve them.

Crime and Happiness Amongst Heads of Households in Malawi

This paper uses 2005 Malawian data to investigate the link between crime and happiness in Malawi. Detailed descriptive statistics reveal that crime is a gendered issue and econometric analyses show that males and females respond differently to different crime variables. In particular, for males being attacked has a negative impact on happiness and neighbourhood crime rates have a U-shaped effect on happiness with happiness at its lowest when 11.2% of respondents in a neighbourhood reported being a victim. For females only a subjective feeling of insecurity impacts negatively on happiness.

Disadvantage, disorder and diversity

Disadvantage, disorder and diversity

Attachment as a source of informal social control in urban neighborhoods

Studies had suggested that informal social control is key to understanding neighborhood crime rates. Yet little is known about sources of informal social control in urban neighborhoods, and less is known about the role of neighborhood attachment in fostering informal social control. To fill this gap, this study addressed three questions: (1) Does neighborhood attachment, operationalized as a multidimensional construct, contribute to neighborhood levels of informal social control? (2) Does neighborhood attachment help explain the lower levels of informal social control typically observed in structurally disadvantaged neighborhoods? (3) If so, what dimensions of neighborhood attachment are most important and how? Using multilevel data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods, hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) results indicated that systemic ties and attitudinal attachment were positively associated with neighborhood levels of informal social control, and that these dimensions of neighborhood attachment explained some of the associations between neighborhood structural conditions and informal social control.

Schools and Neighborhoods: Organizational and Environmental Factors Associated With Crime in Secondary Schools*

While crime and violence in schools are derived primarily from factors external to schools, violent behavior may also be aggravated by factors in the school environment, including the physical environment, its educational and social climate, and its organizational capacity and composition. The objective of this study is to examine the effect of the school's organizational and educational environment on crime rates in secondary schools and to examine how neighborhood factors influence these relationships. School and neighborhood crime rates for 95 middle (MS) and high (HS) schools were calculated using data from the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Police Department and Los Angeles Police Department, respectively. School-level organizational and educational variables, including the academic performance index (API), were obtained from the California Department of Education. A measure of neighborhood dilapidation was created using variables collected on a neighborhood environmental survey. Linear regression was used to examine the relationship between organizational and educational school variables and school crime rates. Community crime and dilapidation were added to the model to examine the influence of the school-community context relationships. HS had higher crime rates than MS. As the percentage of certified teachers and student to staff ratios increased, school crime decreased (p < .01). An API of below basic performance was significantly associated with increasing school crime rates (p < .05). Neighborhood crime was not significantly associated with school crime, although dilapidation was positively and significantly associated with school crime even after controlling for community crime (p < .05). Both school- and neighborhood-level factors were associated with increasing crime rates in secondary schools. School violence prevention efforts should include school and community partnerships to address these potentially modifiable factors.

The Interaction between a Neighbourhood's Racial Composition and Officer Race in Community Policing: A Case Study from the Residential Area Policing Programme (RAPP), Cleveland, Ohio

This study explores whether there is a relationship between police officers' race and a neighbourhood's racial composition on the latter's community policing experience. The paper analyses responses from in-depth interviews with police officers from the Residential Area Policing Programme (RAPP), a community policing programme carried out in four neighbourhoods in Cleveland, Ohio. The measurement of the officers' experiences with RAPP is based on four questions focusing on the officers' attitudes, perceptions and observations vis-à-vis the neighbourhood, the residents' reactions to the programme and to the officers, and the impact of the programme on the neighbourhood's crime rates. The results show that for RAPP there was no relationship between the officers' race and the neighbourhood's racial composition on the individual officer's positive or negative experience with RAPP. However, the results illustrated how officers as racial groups experienced RAPP differently. The results also conveyed in a preliminary way that male officers experienced RAPP differently from female officers. Further research on the interaction between a neighbourhood's racial composition and officer race within a community policing context is needed to establish generalisability as well as the effect of gender on the community policing experience.

Objective Measures of Neighborhood Environment and Self-Reported Physical Activity in Spinal Cord Injured Men

Liang H, Tomey K, Chen D, Savar NL, Rimmer JH, Braunschweig CL. Objective measures of neighborhood environment and self-reported physical activity in spinal cord injured men. Objectives To assess the relationship between objective neighborhood environment and self-reported physical activity (PA) and between PA and obesity-related risk factors in people with spinal cord injury (SCI). Design A cross-sectional study. Setting Urban university. Participants Men with SCI (N=131), 20 to 59 years old, at least 1 year postinjury and using wheelchair for mobility most of the time. Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures Metabolic syndrome (abdominal obesity, elevated blood pressure, glucose, triglycerides, and low-high density lipoprotein cholesterol) and high C-reactive protein (CRP), as well as total PA metabolic equivalent score. Results Lower PA was associated with higher prevalence rate for elevated triglycerides, metabolic syndrome, and high CRP. Compared with those in low PA tertile, those in high PA tertile had significantly lower odds for elevated triglycerides (odds ratio [OR]=.19; 95% confidence interval [CI], .04–.80), metabolic syndrome (OR=.15; 95% CI, .03–.66) and high CRP (OR=.17; 95% CI, .04–.71) while adjusting for relevant factors. In crude analysis, lower PA was associated with neighborhood environmental characteristics including shorter distance to nearest transit stops, smaller mean block area, greater number of transit stops, high vacant housing, and higher neighborhood crime rate. In multivariate analysis higher total crime was the only risk factor significantly associated with lower PA level. Those living in higher crime rate neighborhoods had 86% lower odds of having greater than median PA level (OR=.14; 95% CI, .04–.49) than their counterparts. Conclusions In men with SCI, lower PA is independently associated with having elevated triglycerides, metabolic syndrome, and high CRP. Additionally, lower PA is associated with higher neighborhood crime rate.

Crime News and Racialized Beliefs: Understanding the Relationship Between Local News Viewing and Perceptions of African Americans and Crime

A survey of Los Angeles County adults was undertaken to determine whether exposure to the overrepresentation of Blacks as criminals on local news programs, attention to crime news, and news trust predicted perceptions of Blacks and crime. After controlling for a number of factors including the diversity of respondents’ neighborhood and neighborhood crime rate, attention to crime news was positively related to concern about crime. In addition, attention to crime news was positively associated with harsher culpability ratings of a hypothetical race-unidentified suspect and a Black suspect but not a White suspect. Finally, heavier consumption of Blacks’ overrepresentation as criminals on local television news was positively related to the perception of Blacks as violent. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed in light of chronic activation and accessibility of stereotypical constructs.