Immigration and Crime: Assessing a Contentious Issue
TL;DR: The authors synthesize the recent generation of immigration-crime research focused on macrosocial units using a two-pronged approach that combines the qualitative method of narrative review with the quantitative strategy of systematic meta-analysis.
Abstract: Are immigration and crime related? This review addresses this question in order to build a deeper understanding of the immigration-crime relationship. We synthesize the recent generation (1994 to 2014) of immigration-crime research focused on macrosocial (i.e., geospatial) units using a two-pronged approach that combines the qualitative method of narrative review with the quantitative strategy of systematic meta-analysis. After briefly reviewing contradictory theoretical arguments that scholars have invoked in efforts to explain the immigration-crime relationship, we present findings from our analysis, which (a) determined the average effect of immigration on crime rates across the body of literature and (b) assessed how variations in key aspects of research design have impacted results obtained in prior studies. Findings indicate that, overall, the immigration-crime association is negative—but very weak. At the same time, there is significant variation in findings across studies. Study design features, i...
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TL;DR: A review of the literature on innovations that can lead to transformations in individuals, organizations, supply chains, and communities toward a sustainable future can be found in this paper, where the diversity of innovation for sustainable development in the literature, proposes a typology of such a phenomenon, and identifies a series of recommendations for the future development of the field.
301 citations
Cites background from "Immigration and Crime: Assessing a ..."
..., 2018), human rights (Giuliani, 2016), and war and disordered immigration (Ousey and Kubrin, 2018)....
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TL;DR: The results from fixed-effects regression models reveal that undocumented immigration does not increase violence, and the relationship between undocumented immigration and violent crime is generally negative, although not significant in all specifications.
Abstract: Despite substantial public, political, and scholarly attention to the issue of immigration and crime, we know little about the criminological consequences of undocumented immigration. As a result, fundamental questions about whether undocumented immigration increases violent crime remain unanswered. In an attempt to address this gap, we combine newly developed estimates of the unauthorized population with multiple data sources to capture the criminal, socioeconomic, and demographic context of all 50 states and Washington, DC, from 1990 to 2014 to provide the first longitudinal analysis of the macro-level relationship between undocumented immigration and violence. The results from fixed-effects regression models reveal that undocumented immigration does not increase violence. Rather, the relationship between undocumented immigration and violent crime is generally negative, although not significant in all specifications. Using supplemental models of victimization data and instrumental variable methods, we find little evidence that these results are due to decreased reporting or selective migration to avoid crime. We consider the theoretical and policy implications of these findings against the backdrop of the dramatic increase in immigration enforcement in recent decades.
119 citations
TL;DR: Results showed that four- or five-level or cross-classified random effects models are not often used although they might account better for the meta-analytic data structure of the analyzed datasets and it was found that the simulation studies done on multilevel meta-analysis with multiple random factors could have used more realistic simulation factor conditions.
Abstract: In meta-analysis, study participants are nested within studies, leading to a multilevel data structure. The traditional random effects model can be considered as a model with a random study effect, but additional random effects can be added in order to account for dependent effects sizes within or across studies. The goal of this systematic review is three-fold. First, we will describe how multilevel models with multiple random effects (i.e., hierarchical three-, four-, five-level models and cross-classified random effects models) are applied in meta-analysis. Second, we will illustrate how in some specific three-level meta-analyses, a more sophisticated model could have been used to deal with additional dependencies in the data. Third and last, we will describe the distribution of the characteristics of multilevel meta-analyses (e.g., distribution of the number of outcomes across studies or which dependencies are typically modeled) so that future simulation studies can simulate more realistic conditions. Results showed that four- or five-level or cross-classified random effects models are not often used although they might account better for the meta-analytic data structure of the analyzed datasets. Also, we found that the simulation studies done on multilevel meta-analysis with multiple random factors could have used more realistic simulation factor conditions. The implications of these results are discussed, and further suggestions are given.
63 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, an adjusted rank correlation test is proposed as a technique for identifying publication bias in a meta-analysis, and its operating characteristics are evaluated via simulations, and the test statistic is a direct statistical analogue of the popular funnel-graph.
Abstract: An adjusted rank correlation test is proposed as a technique for identifying publication bias in a meta-analysis, and its operating characteristics are evaluated via simulations. The test statistic is a direct statistical analogue of the popular "funnel-graph." The number of component studies in the meta-analysis, the nature of the selection mechanism, the range of variances of the effect size estimates, and the true underlying effect size are all observed to be influential in determining the power of the test. The test is fairly powerful for large meta-analyses with 75 component studies, but has only moderate power for meta-analyses with 25 component studies. However, in many of the configurations in which there is low power, there is also relatively little bias in the summary effect size estimate. Nonetheless, the test must be interpreted with caution in small meta-analyses. In particular, bias cannot be ruled out if the test is not significant. The proposed technique has potential utility as an exploratory tool for meta-analysts, as a formal procedure to complement the funnel-graph.
13,373 citations
TL;DR: Multilevel analyses showed that a measure of collective efficacy yields a high between-neighborhood reliability and is negatively associated with variations in violence, when individual-level characteristics, measurement error, and prior violence are controlled.
Abstract: It is hypothesized that collective efficacy, defined as social cohesion among neighbors combined with their willingness to intervene on behalf of the common good, is linked to reduced violence. This hypothesis was tested on a 1995 survey of 8782 residents of 343 neighborhoods in Chicago, Illinois. Multilevel analyses showed that a measure of collective efficacy yields a high between-neighborhood reliability and is negatively associated with variations in violence, when individual-level characteristics, measurement error, and prior violence are controlled. Associations of concentrated disadvantage and residential instability with violence are largely mediated by collective efficacy.
10,498 citations
"Immigration and Crime: Assessing a ..." refers background in this paper
...…Diego, Chicago, and Los Angeles (Kubrin & Ishizawa 2012; Lee et al. 2001; Lee & Martinez 2002; MacDonald et al. 2013; Martinez et al. 2004, 2008; Sampson et al. 1997, 2005) as well as analyses that nonselectively incorporate major US cities with widely varying immigration levels (Lyons et al.…...
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TL;DR: The authors conducted a meta-analysis on existing empirical studies to determine the empirical status of Gottfredson and Hirschi's (1990) general theory of crime, and found that low self-control is an important predictor of crime and of "analogous behaviors".
Abstract: To determine the empirical status of Gottfredson and Hirschi's (1990) “general theory of crime,” we conducted a meta-analysis on existing empirical studies. The results indicate that, regardless of measurement differences, low self-control is an important predictor of crime and of “analogous behaviors.” Also, low self-control has general effects across different types of samples. Contrary to Gottfredson and Hirschi's position, however, the effect of low self-control is weaker in longitudinal studies, and variables from social learning theory still receive support in studies that include a measure of low self-control. Finally, we argue that meta-analysis is an underutilized tool in discerning the relative empirical merits of criminological theories.
1,871 citations
TL;DR: The results imply that generic interventions to improve neighborhood conditions and support families may reduce racial gaps in violence.
Abstract: We analyzed key individual, family, and neighborhood factors to assess competing hypotheses regarding racial/ethnic gaps in perpetrating violence. From 1995 to 2002, we collected 3 waves of data on 2974 participants aged 18 to 25 years living in 180 Chicago neighborhoods, augmented by a separate community survey of 8782 Chicago residents. The odds of perpetrating violence were 85% higher for Blacks compared with Whites, whereas Latino-perpetrated violence was 10% lower. Yet the majority of the Black–White gap (over 60%) and the entire Latino–White gap were explained primarily by the marital status of parents, immigrant generation, and dimensions of neighborhood social context. The results imply that generic interventions to improve neighborhood conditions and support families may reduce racial gaps in violence.
848 citations
"Immigration and Crime: Assessing a ..." refers background in this paper
...…are born in the United States exhibit higher offending rates than their parents (Lopez & Miller 2011, Morenoff & Astor 2006, Rumbaut et al. 2006, Sampson et al. 2005, Taft 1933) and that assimilated immigrants have higher rates of criminal involvement compared with unassimilated immigrants…...
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...…Feldmeyer & Steffensmeier 2009; Graif & Sampson 2009; Kubrin & Ishizawa 2012; Lee et al. 2001; Lee & Martinez 2002; MacDonald et al. 2013; Martinez et al. 2004, 2008, 2010; Nielsen et al. 2005; Nielsen & Martinez 2009; Ramey 2013; Sampson et al. 2005; Stowell & Martinez 2007, 2009; Velez 2009)....
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...…Diego, Chicago, and Los Angeles (Kubrin & Ishizawa 2012; Lee et al. 2001; Lee & Martinez 2002; MacDonald et al. 2013; Martinez et al. 2004, 2008; Sampson et al. 1997, 2005) as well as analyses that nonselectively incorporate major US cities with widely varying immigration levels (Lyons et al.…...
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...2009; Wadsworth 2010), neighborhood-level studies are more numerous (Akins et al. 2009; Chavez & Griffiths 2009; Desmond & Kubrin 2009; Feldmeyer & Steffensmeier 2009; Graif & Sampson 2009; Kubrin & Ishizawa 2012; Lee et al. 2001; Lee & Martinez 2002; MacDonald et al. 2013; Martinez et al. 2004, 2008, 2010; Nielsen et al. 2005; Nielsen & Martinez 2009; Ramey 2013; Sampson et al. 2005; Stowell & Martinez 2007, 2009; Velez 2009)....
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TL;DR: In this article, a "meta-analysis" was undertaken to determine the relative effects of macro-level predictors of crime, including social disorganization, resource/economic deprivation theories, anomie/strain, social support/social altruism and routine activity theories.
Abstract: 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...
803 citations