COMMUNITY SAFETY AND CRIMINAL ACTIVITY IN BLACK SUBURBS

• NCJ Number: 59726
• Journal: Journal of Black Studies Volume: 9 Issue: 3 Dated: (MARCH 1979) Pages: 311-333
• Author(s): W W NICHOLS
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 23 pages
• Corporate Author: Sage Publications, Inc
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

COMMUNITY SAFETY AND CRIMINAL ACTIVITY IN BLACK SUBURBS ARE ASSESSED IN THIS PAPER, WHICH ENDEAVORS TO EXPLAIN THE CONSTANT INCREASE IN SUBURBAN CRIME.

Abstract

TO ENGENDER MORE INFORMATION REGARDING BLACK SUBURBAN COMMUNITIES, FOUR HYPOTHESES ARE TESTED: (1) BLACK RESIDENTIAL AREAS NOT LOCATED WITHIN CENTRAL CITIES ARE RELATIVELY CRIME-FREE AREAS; (2) CRIME OCCURRING IN BLACK SUBURBAN COMMUNITIES IS MORE PROPERTY-ORIENTED THAN PEOPLE-ORIENTED, WITH BURGLARY THE MOST FREQUENTLY COMMITTED OFFENSE; (3) CRIME IN 'COLONIZING' BLACK SUBURBAN AREAS (WITH POPULATIONS LESS THAN 10,000, LOCATED FAR FROM THE CENTRAL CITY) HAS INCREASED AT A SLOWER PACE THAN CRIME IN 'GHETTOIZING' BLACK SUBURBS (WITH POPULATIONS GREATER THAN 10,000, LOCATED NEAR THE CENTRAL-CITY GHETTO); AND (4) THE INCREASE IN SUBURBAN CRIME SEEMS TO BE DIRECTLY RELATED TO NONBLACK, URBAN-SUBURBAN MIGRATION. GENERALLY, SEVERAL OBSERVATIONS CONCERNING BLACK CRIME RATES, DERIVED FROM THE FBI'S UNIFORM CRIME REPORTS, THE 1970 CENSUS OF POPULATION, AND OTHER WORKS, REVEAL THAT BLACKS ARE ARRESTED MORE FREQUENTLY THAN WHITES, AND THAT MOST AMERICANS ARE UNABLE TO ESCAPE CRIME, EVEN THE SUBURBS. BLACK ARRESTS FOR SUBURBAN CRIME ARE ON THE RISE. IN 1966, BLACKS WERE ARRESTED FOR ONLY 16 PERCENT OF SUBURBAN CRIMES, BUT IN 1972, THE ACCOUNTED FOR 23 PERCENT OF ARRESTS. A GREAT DEAL OF THIS INCREASE SEEMS TO BE RELATED TO THE INCREASE OF BLACKS IN THE GHETTOIZING PORTIONS OF SUBURBAN RINGS. STUDIES POINT OUT THE SOCIOECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF BLACKS IN SUBURBIA, LEADING TO THE TENTATIVE CONCLUSIONS THAT BLACK SUBURBAN COMMUNITIES HAVE NOT CONTRIBUTED TO THE UPSURGE OF SUBURBAN CRIME DUE TO THE SMALL NUMBER OF BLACKS IN THE SUBURBS; MOST CRIME COMMITTED IN THE SUBURBS IS PROPERTY-ORIENTED (PARTICULARLY BURGLARY); AND GHETTOIZING AREAS APPEAR TO HAVE THE HIGHEST CRIME RATES, PROBABLY DUE TO THEIR PROXIMITY TO THE CENTRAL CITIES AND THEIR GREATER POPULATIONS. NOTES AND REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (WJR)