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POVERTY, INCOME INEQUALITY, AND COMMUNITY CRIME RATES
Author(s) -
PATTERSON E. BRITT
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
criminology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.467
H-Index - 139
eISSN - 1745-9125
pISSN - 0011-1384
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-9125.1991.tb01087.x
Subject(s) - poverty , inequality , economic inequality , demographic economics , criminology , perspective (graphical) , violent crime , relative deprivation , extreme poverty , economics , sociology , economic growth , social science , mathematical analysis , mathematics , artificial intelligence , computer science
This paper examines the relationship between crime rates and aggregate economic conditions for 57 small social areas. The principal analyses address a continuing controversy—are community crime rates associated with absolute poverty, relative poverty (i.e., income inequality), or both. Using victimization data from 57 small residential neighborhoods, the analyses examine the association between absolute and relative poverty and rates of violent crime and burglary. The findings indicate that absolute poverty is more strongly associated with neighborhood crime rates, although the relationship is conditional on the type of crime considered. The implications of the findings are discussed within a perspective of community social control.