NCJ Number
138280
Journal
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Volume: 36 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer 1992) Pages: 103-119
Date Published
1992
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This report examines crime trends and patterns in Puerto Rico and assesses the effects of selected measures of social change in relation to crime on the island, using data from the Uniform Crime Reports and the International Police Organization for 1972-89.
Abstract
Based on a literature review, the measures of societal change selected were gross national product per capita, percent of the population urbanized, rates of unemployment and industrialization, median income, and population density per square mile. The analysis also included two control variables that have been shown in previous research to affect crime rates: age and the size of the Puerto Rican police force. The primary data sources for the independent variables were the World Handbook of Political and Social Indicators, U.S. Census data, and United Nations Demographic Yearbooks. The data indicate that both violent and property crimes are rising, with property crimes increasing at a faster pace than violent crimes. The 1970's were characterized by low crime rates compared to the period after 1980. Burglary, the major property crime for the first 15 years of the period covered, has been replaced in the last 2 years by larceny-theft; robbery and aggravated assault are the most frequently committed violent offenses. Regression analysis revealed that overall the measures of social change were effective in predicting both violent and property crime rates. The results support the Durkheimian notion that one of the consequences of societal change from a mechanical solidarity to the organic solidarity type is an increase in relative normlessness. 3 tables and 58 references