NCJ Number
214032
Date Published
2005
Length
178 pages
Annotation
This study developed and tested a theoretical account of how and why local politics, crime, and formal social control are related.
Abstract
This study found that in 1981 and 1991, cities with mayor-council and partisan governments had significantly larger numbers of sworn officers relative to population size; police forces became relatively larger as the number of traditional political system characteristics increased. The author argues that Hick's and Misra's (1993) "political resource" theory can provide insight into the effect of local politics on crime and crime control in cities. Political resource theory explains how key state and nonstate actors, using the resources available to them as they pursue their perceived interests, shape governmental policy responses. The hypothesis tested was that variation in local political systems, which affects the susceptibility of the city government to political influence, could also influence local anticrime policies. It was also expected that traditional political system characteristics--such as mayor-council forms of government, partisan elections, and district-based elections--would be likely to make cities more responsive to citizen calls for more police, all else being equal. Data on cities with 25,000 or more residents was obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau's County and City Databook Series. The most recent year for which all relevant social and economic data were available for cities was 1990; therefore, the dependent variables--crime rates and police strength--were measured in 1991. Crime rates and police employment data were obtained from the FBI Uniform Crime Reports. Information on city political systems came from City Form of Government surveys conducted in 1981 and 1991. Chapter tables and notes, 308 references, appended supplementary information on study methodology, and a subject index