Crime & Delinquency

We advance discussion of structural inequality by operationalizing “concentrated” disadvantage in terms of highly disadvantaged communities located at the spatial core of contiguous areas of high disadvantage, and by testing the extent to which such location achieves an independent effect on violence. Using exploratory spatial data analysis and count modeling, we show that highly disadvantaged communities located at the center of a contiguous ghetto have significantly higher rates of violence than other highly disadvantaged communities, but that this relationship is moderated by structural disadvantage. In addition to finding a significant interaction between these “deserts” of disadvantage and structural disadvantage, as they relate to violent crime, we also observe that in desert communities, disadvantage has a diminishing effect on violence.

This study examines the direct, reciprocal, and indirect effects of parolees on neighborhoods, including residential vacancies, property sales, public assistance, and crime. Cross-lagged autoregressive models are estimated using a unique data set containing annual neighborhood information on parolees, crime rates, and neighborhood structure in the city of Cleveland, Ohio, between 2000 and 2008. Results suggest parolees degrade neighborhood structure, and these effects are direct, reciprocal, and indirect. Understanding how the presence of parolees can contribute to changes in neighborhood processes linked to crime will broaden our understanding of the effects that parolees have on communities and highlight additional areas for intervention.

This study examined the gendered impact of structural disadvantage and economic inequality on two forms of nonlethal victimization (assault and robbery). Compared with research on the gendered impact of structural disadvantage on perpetration, few studies have examined the differential susceptibility of men and women’s risk of victimization. We use data from the City of Los Angeles (2001-2007) to examine the relative influence of neighborhood characteristics on both the gender gap in victimization as well as sex-specific measures of assault and robbery victimization. In general, we largely find that neighborhood disadvantage and economic inequality do little to explain the gender gap in victimization; however, structure plays a more significant role in understanding sex-specific victimization rates, but the relationship varies by crime type.

Scholars have theorized how spatial boundaries (edges) can be important for understanding the location of crime, yet the empirical relationship between spatial boundaries in the environment and levels of crime is relatively less explored compared with other features of the environment. The current study extends the literature by not only studying three types of physical boundaries—interstate highways, parks, and rivers—but also one nonphysical and relatively less visible boundary—city boundaries. We analyze the relationship between crime in street segments and nearness to these four types of edges in the Southern California area. We measure nearness to these boundaries in two manners: (a) whether or not the segment is adjacent to the feature and (b) how far in physical distance the segment is to the feature.

A criminal conviction results in consequences that extend beyond incarceration. Self-stigmatization is a negative consequence that many formerly individuals experience. It manifests in low self-esteem and personal barriers to reentry. This study explores higher education programs in prison as a moderator of self-stigma. Using qualitative interviews, this study investigated the perceptions of formerly incarcerated individuals who participated in higher education in prison in regard to the ways in which incarceration and education affected their self-stigma. Results indicate that incarceration influences self-stigma, but education enhances a sense of empowerment and motivation to resist the negative effects of self-stigma. Reducing the stigmatization of formerly incarcerated individuals is important because if they view themselves positively, it can improve their reentry and life trajectory.