NCJ Number
228169
Journal
Homicide Studies Volume: 13 Issue: 3 Dated: August 2009 Pages: 307-314
Date Published
August 2009
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This acticle examines the effect of recent immigration on homicide rates across census tracts in Austin, TX.
Abstract
Findings indicate that recent immigration is not a meaningful predictor of homicide in Austin, which is consistent with previous research on immigration and crime. Extending the immigration/homicide linkage to Austin communities is important. Given the cumulative weight of the evidence on immigration and homicide, the rise in immigration is arguably one of the reasons that crime rates, in general, and homicide rates ,in particular, have decreased in the United States over the past decade and a half, and even more so in cities of immigrant concentration with heighted growth like Austin. Furthermore, findings in this study and those of others suggest that violent crime in the United States in not caused more by immigrants than the native-born, at least at the community level. But the "more immigrants means more violence" assumption persists among policymakers, the media, and the general public, thereby thwarting a genuine understanding of both crime and immigration. Data were collected from 182 census tracts encompassing the city of Austin. Each tract had no fewer than 700 residents and an average tract population of 4,574 persons. Tables, notes, and references