NCJ Number
145684
Date Published
Unknown
Length
55 pages
Annotation
This study examined the impact of socioeconomic variables on Part I Uniform Crime Report index crimes (murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, and auto theft) in the U.S. border region with Mexico.
Abstract
Economic variables used in the research included median family income, unemployment rate, blue collar composition of the labor force, and families with income below the poverty level. The key demographic variable was age composition, while the two social variables were population density and educational level. The analysis showed that murder, forcible rape, and burglary are not correlated with these socioeconomic variables under either linear or log-log specifications. Robbery is correlated with the variables under both regressions, and aggravated assault is correlated in the log- log regression, but not in the linear case. There were also correlations between both larceny and auto theft and the socioeconomic variables studied here. These correlations tended to be strongest in the counties directly bordering Mexico. 2 appendixes and 113 references