Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Formal Controls, Neighborhood Disadvantage, And Violent Crime In U.S. Cities: Examining (Un)Intended Consequences, Allison Martin, Emily M. Wright, Benjamin Steiner

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Purpose This study examines the intended and unintended effects of formal social controls on violent crime within and across U.S. cities. Methods Using data from the National Neighborhood Crime Study, we assess whether greater police arrest activity and jail incarceration risk are associated with lower violent crime rates across cities. We also investigate whether greater use of these formal social controls exacerbates the relationship between extreme neighborhood disadvantage and violent crime. Results Results from multilevel analyses show that some formal controls (jail incarceration risk) reduce violent crime across cities, but other formal controls (police arrest activity) amplify the relationship between …