NCJ Number
38894
Date Published
1975
Length
66 pages
Annotation
STATE-OF-THE-ART REVIEW OF THE FINDINGS OF OVER 30 RESEARCH STUDIES PUBLISHED BETWEEN 1955 AND 1975 WHICH USED A WIDE VARIETY OF SAMPLE DATA, RANGING FROM POLICE DISTRICTS IN A GIVEN CITY TO NATIONAL TIME SERIES DATA.
Abstract
A COMMON ELEMENT FOUND IN ALL OF THE STUDIES IS AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF THE STATISTICAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE LEVEL OF CRIMINAL ACTIVITY AND EITHER THE LEVEL OF UNEMPLOYMENT AND/OR SOME MEASURE OF THE LEVEL OF DISTRIBUTION OF INCOME IN THE SAMPLE POPULATION. STATISTICAL RESULTS OF STUDIES RELATING UNEMPLOYMENT TO CRIME SHOW GENERAL, IF NOT UNIFORM, SUPPORT FOR A POSITIVE CORRELATION BETWEEN THESE TWO VARIABLES. PRISON ADMISSIONS AND UNEMPLOYMENT SHOW THE MOST CONSISTENTLY SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIP. WHEN SPECIFIC CRIME RATES WERE USED RATHER THAN TOTAL RATES, PROPERTY CRIMES TENDED MORE FREQUENTLY TO SHOW THE PREDICTED RELATIONSHIP WITH UNEMPLOYMENT THAN DID CRIMES OF VIOLENCE. THE IMPACT OF LOW INCOME ON CRIMINAL ACTIVITY WAS ALMOST ALWAYS STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT AND POSITIVE WHEN LOW INCOME WAS MEASURED BY THE PERCENT OF 'POVERTY' FAMILIES IN THE POPULATION. THE USE OF THE AVERAGE INCOME OF FAMILIES IN THIS GROUP WAS A MUCH LESS SUCCESSFUL MEASURE. THE IMPACT OF AFFLUENT VICTIMS ON CRIMINAL ACTIVITY WAS ALSO SIGNIFICANT, AS WAS INCOME INEQUALITY, ALTHOUGH IT WAS USED LESS FREQUENTLY. FINDINGS REGARDING THE CAUSAL ROLES OF BOTH INCOME AND UNEMPLOYMENT WERE MORE UNIFORM QUALITATIVELY THAN QUANTITATIVELY. THE POLICY IMPLICATIONS OF THESE FINDINGS ARE CONSIDERED ALONG WITH AREAS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH, INCLUDING THE REFINEMENT OF THEORETICAL MODELS AND OF EMPIRICAL RESEARCH. A 123-ITEM REFERENCE LIST IS PROVIDED.