Local Politics and Violent Crime in U.S. Cities

• NCJ Number: 204756
• Journal: Criminology Volume: 41 Issue: 4 Dated: November 2003 Pages: 1101-1135
• Author(s): Thomas D. Stucky
• Editor(s): Robert J. Bursik Jr.
• Date Published: November 2003
• Length: 35 pages
• Grant Number(s): SES-0002291
• Sponsoring Agency: National Science Foundation
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined the effect of variation in local political arrangements on violent crime rates across cities in the United States.

Abstract

Recent research has begun to examine the effects of politics on crime. However, few criminological studies have considered the patterned ways that local political variation could affect crime or include direct measures of local politics. This study began by discussing how local politics can have consequences for a number of social and political outcomes which likely affect crime rates; some of the ways politics have been discussed in recent systemic social disorganization and institutional anomie research, showing the need for more direct examination of how local political dynamics affect crime directly and conditionally; recent city-level studies that have included direct measures of local politics; and the impact of city politics on political and social outcomes. Testable hypotheses were generated on the relationship between local politics and crime, specifically direct and conditional effects of local politics on violent crime in 958 cities across the United States in 1991. Study results found that local politics had direct and conditional effects on violent crime. It found that violent crime rates were lower in cities where at least some city council members were elected to serve geographic districts. It was suggested that this may be because district-based political representation enhances the responsiveness of local governments, which in turn leads to policies that reduce violent crime. Criminological studies have recently begun to consider the impact of local political structural variation on violent crime. The importance of local political structures for violent crime suggests the value of expanding on traditional explanations of crime by applying insights from research outside mainstream criminology. References and appendices A-B