A leading sociological theory of crime is the “routine activities” approach (Cohen and Felson, 1979). The premise of this ecological theory is that criminal events result from likely offenders, suitable targets, and the absence of capable guardians against crime converging nonrandomly in time and space. Yet prior research has been unable to employ spatial data, relying instead on individual- and household-level data, to test that basic premise. This analysis supports the premise with spatial data on 323,979 calls to police over all 115,000 addresses and intersections in Minneapolis over 1 year. Relatively few “hot spots” produce most calls to Police (50% of calls in 3% of places) and calls reporting predatory crimes (all robberies at 2.2% of places, all rapes at 1.2% of places, and all auto thefts at 2.7% of places), because crime is both rare (only 3.6% of the city could have had a robbery with no repeat addresses) and concentrated, although the magnitude of concentration varies by offense type. These distributions all deviate significantly, and with ample magnitude, from the simple Poisson model of chance, which raises basic questions about the criminogenic nature of places, as distinct from neighborhoods or collectivities.

Hot Spots of Predatory Crime: Routine Activities and the Criminology of Place

https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/153612/mod_book/chapter/3000/Wilkinson%20and%20Pickett%20Income%20inequality%20and%20health.pdf

Income inequality and population health: a review and explanation of the evidence.

The literature on fear of crime has grown rapidly in the last three decades. This paper examines the reasons for this growth and attempts to put some structure on the work to date. The inadequacies of measures of fear of crime are discussed and alternative approaches suggested. Alternative explanatory theories are compared and strategies for reducing fear reviewed.

Fear of crime: A review of the literature.

The macro-level approach reemerged as a salient criminological paradigm in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Prompted by new theories and reformulations of existing ones, over 200 empirical studies explored ecological correlates of crime. Few efforts have been made, however, to "make sense" of this literature. A "meta-analysis" was undertaken to determine the relative effects of macro-level predictors of crime. Indicators of "concentrated disadvantage" (e.g., racial heterogeneity, poverty, and family disruption) are among the strongest and most stable predictors. Except for incarceration, variables indicating increased use of the criminal justice system (e.g., policing and get-tough policy effects) are among the weakest. Across all studies, social disorganization and resource/economic deprivation theories receive strong empirical support; anomie/strain, social support/social altruism, and routine activity theories receive moderate support; and deterrence/rational choice and subcultural theories receive weak...

Assessing Macro-Level Predictors and Theories of Crime: A Meta-Analysis

Rather than enjoying a good PDF next a cup of coffee in the afternoon, otherwise they juggled past some harmful virus inside their computer. fear of crime interpreting victimization risk is comprehensible in our digital library an online right of entry to it is set as public appropriately you can download it instantly. Our digital library saves in multipart countries, allowing you to acquire the most less latency epoch to download any of our books subsequent to this one. Merely said, the fear of crime interpreting victimization risk is universally compatible later any devices to read.

Fear of crime : interpreting victimization risk

Previous studies have identified but failed to explain satisfactorily the positive relationship between income inequality and homicide rates. This paper proposes an explanation based on the concept of relative deprivation, but also reviews the criminological literature in a search for other theoretically relevant variables. After assessing problems of sampling and measurement, and using a considerably larger sample than used in previous studies, multiple regression analyses reveal positive net effects of both inequality and population growth (reflecting a higher proportion of young people) on homicide rates. Further analyses show that the effects of inequality on homicide are more pronounced in more democratic nations, a finding supporting the relative deprivation explanation. Income inequality also has stronger effects in more densely populated countries, in wealthier nations, and in countries with larger internal security forces.

Income inequality and homicide rates: cross-national data and criminological theories

Victimization has generally been associated with increased fear of crime. Analysis of two very large victimization surveys completed with the Canadian city of Edmonton, Alberta, explores the ways in which age and gender condition the experience of different types of victimization. While younger women were sensitized by assault (current or prior), older women appeared to be desensitized by similar victimization. Language: en

Victimization and fear of crime

Le positivisme n'est jamais a l'abri de la controverse, surtout en sociologie, ou sa viabilite a fait l'objet de longs debate parmi les theoriciens de divers acabits. Mais il reste a savoir jusqua quel point les pratidens de la sociologie considerent encore le positivisme comme une theorie satisfaisante. Les auteurs examinent cette question par une analyse de contenu de 176 articles choisis au hasard dans les revues des associations de sociologie americaines, canadiennes, scandinaves et britanniques datant de la fin des annees 1960 et la fin des annees 1980. L'utilisation d'une grille d'analyse construite a partir de sept elements du positivisme caracteristiques du mouvement de la theory construction revele des elements de persistance aussi bien que de changement. Les resultats amenent les auteurs a questionner la relation qui existe entre la theorie et la pratique en sociologie et a se demander si l'epistemologie de la sociologie reflete la realite de sa pratique. En conclusion, Ton suggere quelques pistes de recherche ulterieure sur le sujet.



Positivism is no stranger to controversy, least of all in sociology, where its viability has been the subject of a long-running debate among theorists of different stripes. Yet the question remains to what degree sociological practitioners continue to find positivism to be persuasive. This question is approached through a content analysis of 176 randomly selected articles published in the late 1960s and the late 1980s in the official journals of the American, Canadian, Scandinavian and British sociological associations. Using an index based on seven elements of positivism that were characteristic of the “theory construction” movement of the late 1960s, the authors found both persistence and change. The results raise questions about the relationship between the realms of theory and practice in sociology and whether sociologists' philosophies of science reflect what practitioners actually do in their sociological work. The authors conclude with suggestions for further research on this topic.

Positivism in Sociological Practice: 1967–1990*

Positivism has been declared dead in sociological theory circles, yet questions remain as to its viability among researchers. The authors present diagnostic evidence about positivism in sociological practice through a content analysis of journal articles published in the late 1960s and the late 1980s in the sociological journals of the USA and Britain. Using an index based on seven elements of positivism that were characteristic of the 'theory construction' movement of the late 1960s, the authors find evidence of the effects of time and nation on the use of positivism. Disaggregation of the index reveals that most of the observed change is associated with the elements of 'instrumental' positivism, particularly statistics. The results raise questions about the relationship between theory and research and about sociologists' philosophies of science.

Positivism in sociological research: USA and UK (1966-1990).

Victimization studies indicate that the risk of sexual assault is significant for women in America today and that sizable numbers of women are sexually assaulted more than once during their lives. This study proposed and tested alternative hypotheses about repeated sexual victimization and trauma change during the acute phase of the sexual assault trauma syndrome. Panel interview data were collected during a two-year period on 184 female victims (14 years and older) admitted to a sexual assault treatment center for initial and follow-up services. Controlling for initial trauma level and time between assessments, prior assault victims were more traumatized than first assault victims at follow-up. Prior and first assault victims had different patterns in short-term trauma change, with only the first assault victims decreasing in trauma. Prior mental health or substance abuse problems partially explained the observed effect of prior sexual assault on trauma change. Prior sexual assault, however, continued to affect trauma significantly in the condition where the repeated assault victim also had prior mental health or substance abuse problems at the time of the current assault.

John W. Gartrell

Papers

Income inequality and homicide rates: cross-national data and criminological theories

Victimization and fear of crime

Positivism in Sociological Practice: 1967–1990*

Positivism in sociological research: USA and UK (1966-1990).

Repeated sexual victimization and trauma change during the acute phase of the sexual assault trauma syndrome.