NCJ Number
160146
Date Published
Unknown
Length
24 pages
Annotation
Data from the Drug Market Analysis Program in Jersey City, N.J., are used to analyze the spatial relationship between street-level drug markets and crime.
Abstract
The analysis focused on intersection areas, which related each of the city's 1,553 streets with its related four blocks. These intersections were linked on a computer map to narcotics sales arrests, emergency calls for service, and data from a tip line established for the program. Results revealed that 41 percent of the intersection areas were linked to narcotics activity by at least one data source. Further analysis revealed that 10 percent of the intersection areas had multiple indicators of a drug market problem. Further analyses revealed the most active areas and their boundaries and indicated that the majority of these markets were linked mainly to cocaine sales. Six markets sold mainly heroin, while three specialized in marijuana. Ten markets were centers for selling more than one drug, most often cocaine and heroin or cocaine and marijuana. The mean housing value and rent in the 56 markets were significantly less than that of Jersey City houses as a whole. The reported crimes in these areas were most often drug law offenses and disorderly conduct. Crimes of violence such as robbery and assaults were the next most common offenses. Findings indicated that drug market areas include a disproportionate share of reported crime in Jersey City. Footnotes, tables, and 27 references