NCJ Number
46281
Journal
Sociological Quarterly Volume: 17 Issue: 3 Dated: (SUMMER 1976) Pages: 303-313
Date Published
1976
Length
11 pages
Annotation
TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE ON CRIME AND TO ELUCIDATE ETIOLOGICAL FACTORS OF CRIME, CROSS-NATIONAL DATA ON INEQUALITY, UNEMPLOYMENT, AND CRIME RATES WERE ANALYZED.
Abstract
IT WAS HYPOTHESIZED THAT NATIONS HAVING A HIGH RATE OF UNEMPLOYMENT AND AN INEQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF INCOMES WOULD ALSO HAVE A HIGH CRIME RATE. PREVIOUS STUDIES OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ECONOMIC FLUCTUATIONS OR SOCIAL CLASS AND CRIME HAVE EITHER LIMITED THE LEVEL OF ANALYSIS TO BETWEEN GROUP COMPARISONS OR HAVE FAILED TO ADDRESS THE AMOUNT OF RELATIVE DEPRIVATION EXPERIENCED WITHIN A SOCIETY. A WIDE VARIETY OF STATISTICAL DATA WERE SUBJECTED TO ZERO-ORDER CORRELATIONAL ANALYSIS. DATA SOURCES INCLUDE THE 1972 'WORLD HANDBOOK OF POLITICAL AND SOCIAL INDICATORS,' THE 'YEARBOOK OF LABOUR STATISTICS,' THE 'GINI INDEX OF INCOME INEQUALITY,' 'INTERNATIONAL CRIME STATISTICS,' AND 'UNIFORM CRIME REPORTS.' ZERO-ORDER CORRELATION MATRICES FOR COUNTRIES IN WHICH EITHER INEQUALITY OR UNEMPLOYMENT DATA WERE UNAVAILABLE AND FOR COUNTRIES WHERE BOTH TYPES OF DATA WERE AVAILABLE ARE PRESENTED. THE VARIABLES IN ALL THREE MATRICES ARE REMARKABLY CONSISTENT IN DIRECTION AND STRENGTH: PER CAPITA GROSS NATIONAL PRODUCT (GNP) AND PER CAPITA ENERGY CONSUMPTION (EC) SHOW A HIGH POSITIVE CORRELATION, HOMICIDE RATE VARIES INVERSELY WITH PROPERTY AND TOTAL CRIME RATES, PROPERTY AND TOTAL CRIME RATES SHOW A HIGH POSITIVE CORRELATION, HOMICIDE RATE VARIES INVERSELY WITH GNP AND EC, AND PROPERTY AND TOTAL CRIME RATES CORRELATE POSITIVELY WITH TWO MEASURES OF THE COUNTRY'S DEVELOPMENTAL STATUS. FOR THE CENTRAL VARIABLES, INEQUALITY IS INVERSELY RELATED TO DEVELOPMENTAL STATUS AND PROPERTY AND TOTAL CRIME RATES AND POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH HOMICIDE RATE; WHILE UNEMPLOYMENT IS NOT SIGNIFICANTLY RELATED TO GNP, EC, OR PROPERTY AND TOTAL CRIME RATES, IT IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE HOMICIDE RATE. THUS IT IS EVIDENT THAT DATA SUBSTANTIATE A RELATIONSHIP OPPOSITE TO THAT HYPOTHESIZED. THE ONLY RELATIONSHIP SUPPORTED IN THE HYPOTHESIZED DIRECTION WAS THAT BETWEEN HOMICIDE AND INEQUALITY. THE MAJOR FINDING, THAT GNP AND EC ARE RELATED TO PROPERTY AND TOTAL CRIME RATES, PROVIDES SUPPORT FOR THE THEORY THAT INDUSTRIALIZATION IS ASSOCIATED WITH A BREAKDOWN OF SOCIAL BONDS WHICH FACILITATE CONFORMING BEHAVIORS. DIFFICULTIES IN DATA AVAILABILITY ARE BRIEFLY DISCUSSED. REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (JAP)