Economic Transformation and Regional Crime

• NCJ Number: 190160
• Author(s): Carlos Carcach
• Date Published: May 2001
• Length: 6 pages
• Corporate Author: Australian Institute of Criminology
• Sale Source: Australian Institute of Criminology
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: Australia
• Note: Australian Institute of Criminology Trends & Issues in Crime and Criminal justice, No. 209, May 2001; downloaded August 2, 2001

Annotation

This paper, the third in a series devoted to the study of crime in regional Australia, explores further the effect that interactions between population, location, economic transformation, and social attributes have on local crime rates.

Abstract

The unit of analysis for the study was the Local Government Area (LGA). The study encompassed the 497 LGA's of the mainland eastern Australian States. The study found that crime rates were lower in localities that were both residentially and socially stable. Although associated with low local crime rates, factors such as low residential mobility, high average educational level, low income inequality, and low unemployment operated differently, depending on the population size of local areas and their geographic position relative to major service centers. Crime rates in small and medium-sized towns that were proximate to a major service center were highly sensitive to changes in economic and social conditions. This suggests the possibility of crime being diffused from major urban centers to minor surrounding towns. These findings reinforce the need for localized crime control and prevention initiatives, and they highlight the need for understanding how the crime patterns of local areas relate to each other. 2 tables, 3 figures, 4 notes, and 36 references