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Economic Deprivation and Neighborhood Crime Rates, 1960–1980

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 April 2024

Robert J. Bursik Jr.  and
Harold G. Grasmick
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Abstract

The social disorganization model of crime and delinquency generally has argued that the socioeconomic composition of neighborhoods is related to rates of illegal behavior only to the extent that it increases the likelihood of residential turnover and racial/ethnic heterogeneity. Such an orientation reflects the traditional assumption of human ecology that urban areas are characterized by continual processes of residential upgrading as groups become progressively assimilated into the economic structure of the community and have more economic resources at their disposal. However, the validity of the indirect effect hypothesis may have become questionable in the many cities that have experienced a significant economic decline during the last few decades, thereby leading to the creation of an immobile underclass population. We examine here the relative validity of the indirect effect hypothesis in Chicago's neighborhoods during 1960 and 1980. While the findings generally support the traditional indirect effect assumption of social disorganization, they also emphasize the need to consider the economic and political contexts in which these communities are embedded.

Type
Symposium: Crime, Class, and Community—An Emerging Paradigm
Information
Law & Society Review , Volume 27 , Issue 2 , 1993 , pp. 263 - 283
Copyright
Copyright © 1993 by The Law and Society Association

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Footnotes

The authors would like to acknowledge the very helpful, constructive and insightful comments of John Hagan, Al Liska, and Susan Silbey on an earlier version of this article.

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