This study examined the role of opportunity on crime counts within the multi-contextual opportunity theoretical framework.
Researchers used weighted multilevel regression modeling of site observation data from a Cincinnati-based sample of 1,003 apartments nested within 228 census block groups. Results indicate that only a couple of environmental design features were associated with crime in the expected direction, and some of these associations were neighborhood-context-dependent. The study concludes that the results support the propositions of multi-contextual opportunity theory, suggesting that neighborhood-level factors condition the relationship between micro-level opportunity factors and crime. Since there is a scant literature on this topic, more research is needed to see whether the findings hold true in other places. (publisher abstract modified)