Disadvantage and Neighborhood Violent Crime: Do Local Institutions Matter?

• NCJ Number: 186824
• Journal: Research in Crime and Delinquency Volume: 37 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2000 Pages: 31-63
• Author(s): Ruth D. Peterson; Lauren J. Krivo; Mark A. Harris
• Date Published: February 2000
• Length: 33 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: This article was presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology, San Diego, November 1997.

Annotation

This article examines whether local institutions have an impact in controlling neighborhood violence.

Abstract

Disadvantaged neighborhoods have difficulty attracting and maintaining conventional institutions that help control crime. At the same time, institutional settings that are conducive to violence are more prevalent. The authors assess whether certain local institutions provide a mechanism that links economic deprivation and residential instability to criminal violence. In so doing, rates of total and individual violent crimes are examined for census tracts in Columbus, Ohio, for 1990. The analyses consider the influence of economic deprivation, local institutions, and public housing on violent index crime rates. Data for the sociodemographic independent variables are from the 1990 U.S. Censuses of Population and Housing Summary Tape File 3A. Four types of neighborhood institutions are measured: recreation centers, libraries, retail/employment, and bars. Total counts are obtained for each institutional type. To capture aspects of the structural sources of social disorganization, the study uses measures of economic deprivation and residential instability. The basic model specifies that violent crime is a function of economic deprivation, residential instability, public housing, neighborhood institutions, and control variables. Ordinary least squares regression is used to estimate models of overall and different types of violent index crimes. The findings show that communities may reduce violent crime somewhat by developing a larger base of certain types of local institutions (e.g., recreation centers) and preventing the encroachment of others (i.e. bars). Still, such institutional mechanisms do not explain why economic deprivation and residential instability are strongly linked to violent crime. This suggests that efforts to reduce violence substantially in local communities must counter the macro-structural forces that increase economic deprivation and lead to inner-city decline. 5 tables, 1 figures, 12 notes, and 80 references