NCJ Number
230653
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 38 Issue: 2 Dated: March/April 2010 Pages: 207-215
Date Published
March 2010
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This study examined the association between the socioeconomic conditions in the social disorganization tradition and juvenile serious offending Wayne County, MI.
Abstract
This study investigated the relationship between neighborhood factors and juvenile serious offenders in Wayne County, MI. Wayne County is home to Detroit, a city with a glorious past but a bleak future. Administrative data were linked to tract-level census characteristics that proxy for social disorganization structural factors. Results by negative binomial regressions found significant associations in the expected direction with concentrated disadvantage, concentrated affluence, and inequality. Concentrated immigration, however, was insignificantly related juvenile serious offending, and residential stability increased rather than decreased offending. These counter-theoretical results might be due to the presence of homes inhabited by students and young professionals and the vibrant Latino immigrant communities. The stark contrasts this analysis documented, combined with the high correlation of economic conditions to juvenile crime, demand urgent and radical responses to completely transform impoverished neighborhoods in Wayne County. Tables, figure, notes, and references (Published Abstract)