NCJ Number
93099
Journal
Sociology and Social Research Volume: 68 Issue: 2 Dated: (January 1984) Pages: 172-193
Date Published
1984
Length
22 pages
Annotation
Based on a cross-sectional study of all cities greater than or equal to 25,000 in population size, the research described in this paper supports the opportunity theory of crime by suggesting that the dispersion of activities away from the home has a greater impact on the crime rate in larger cities -- with their higher level of anonymity and correspondingly lower levels of social cohesion and informal surveillance -- than in smaller cities.
Abstract
This work refines and supports Cohen and Felson's (1979a) argument that the dispersion of activities away from the home impacts positively on the crime rate by increasing the convergence in time and space of a offender, a suitable target, and the absence of guardians capable of preventing the violation. The study suggests that the frequency of the convergence of criminogenic circumstances varies not only temporally (as Cohen and Felson have suggested), but also cross-sectionally in response to the socio-demographic characteristics of cities. (Author abstract)