Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Immigration, Employment Opportunities, And Criminal Behavior, Matthew Freedman, Emily Owens, Sarah Bohn

Matthew Freedman

Your Friends And Neighbors: Localized Economic Development And Criminal Activity, Matthew Freedman, Emily G. Owens

Matthew Freedman

The Impact Of Judicial Reform On Crime Victimization And Trust In Institutions In Mexico, Luisa Blanco

Luisa Blanco

This article studies the impact of judicial reform in Mexico. It does so using a survey about crime victimization and perceptions of insecurity (Encuesta Nacional Sobre la Inseguridad [ENSI]) between 2005, 2008, and 2009 in 11 Mexican cities, 3 of which implemented the reform in 2007 and 2008. This analysis shows that judicial reform not only reduces victimization but also lowers perceptions of security. Although we find that judicial reform has a negative effect on trust in the local and federal police, judicial reform reduces the probability of being asked by the transit police for a bribe.

Study On Crime And Investment In Latin America And The Caribbean, Luisa Blanco, Christabel Dadzie, Coline Dony

Luisa Blanco

Investment is a key determinant of economic growth. This relationship underpins the growth diagnostic and constraints analysis methodology used by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and United States Government Partnership for Growth initiative with the purpose of identifying the binding constraints to growth in a given country. Recent growth diagnostics undertaken for El Salvador (2011), Guatemala (2013), and Honduras (2013) find crime and citizen insecurity to be binding constraints to growth and investment in those countries (Acevedo et al. 2011; World Bank, 2012). The approaches taken in these growth diagnostic analyses are based on indirect proxies and shadow prices of …

The Impact Of Insecurity And Crime On Democracy And Trust In Institutions, Luisa Blanco, Isabel Ruiz

Luisa Blanco

This paper examines the impact of crime and insecurity on support for and satisfaction with democracy and trust in institutions. We use survey data from the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) for Colombia during the 2004-2010 period. We find that perceptions of insecurity, crime victimization, being asked for a bribe and being affected by the armed conflict have a negative significant effect on satisfaction with democracy and trust in public institutions. Our findings show an important indirect channel through which crime can hinder development because distrust in institutions is associated with lower levels of social capital.

The Criminal Justice Response To Policy Interventions: Evidence From Immigration Reform, Sarah Bohn, Matthew Freedman, Emily Owens

Matthew Freedman

Crime News: Does Quantity Matter?, Rocky Dailey

Rocky Dailey

Two Tales Of A City: Nineteenth-Century Black Philadelphia, Nick Salvatore

Nick Salvatore

[Excerpt] In the tension between Forging Freedom and Roots of Violence certain themes present themselves for further research and thought. Neither volume successfully analyzes the historical roots of the African-American class structure. This is especially evident in each book's treatment of the black middling orders. While neither defines the category with clarity, their basic assumption that small shopkeepers and regularly employed workers were critical to the community's ability to withstand some of the worst shocks of racism is important. The clash between these books also raises questions concerning the role of pre-industrial cultural values in the transition to industrial capitalism. …

Assessing Problem Gambling And Co-Occurring Substance Use And Criminal Activity Among Drug Court Clients, Jennifer Zorland

Jennifer Zorland

Research has demonstrated that problem gambling is associated with substance and alcohol abuse (Petry, Stinson, & Grant, 2005), participation in criminal activities (McCorkle, 2002; Meyer & Stadler, 1999), and involvement in the criminal justice system (NORC, 1999). This study assessed problem gambling and its relation to crime and substance use within a population in which these risk factors are compounded: Adults mandated to participate in drug and DUI courts. Results indicate that the prevalence and severity of problem gambling may be higher within this population than any other. Furthermore, the results of qualitative and quantitative analyses converged to highlight that …

The Impact Of Insecurity On Democracy And Trust In Institutions In Mexico, Luisa Blanco

Luisa Blanco

Using survey data from the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) and Encuesta Nacional Sobre la Inseguridad (ENSI) for Mexico during the period 2004-2010, this paper analyses the impact of insecurity and crime victimization on support and satisfaction with democracy and trust in institutions. With the LAPOP data, perceptions about higher insecurity decrease support and satisfaction with democracy. Perceptions of insecurity and crime victimization have a negative significant effect on trust in institutions, and this finding is robust to using LAPOP and ENSI data. Perceptions of insecurity and crime victimization have a larger negative effect on trust in institutions that …

Low-Income Housing Development And Crime, Matthew Freedman, Emily Owens

Matthew Freedman

Mortality, Crime And Access To Basic Needs Before And After The Haiti Earthquake: A Random Survey Of Port-Au-Prince Households, Athena Kolbe, Royce Hutson, Harry Shannon, Eileen Trzcinski, Bart Miles, Naomi Levitz, Marie Puccio, Leah James, Jean Noel, Robert Muggah

Royce A. Hutson

On 12 January 2010 an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter Scale struck Haiti, causing unprecedented death, injury and destruction for an event of this magnitude. Our aim was to generate a rapid assessment of the primary consequences for the population of the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince, the national capital. During the summer of 2009 we conducted a survey of 1,800 households in metropolitan Port-au-Prince. Six weeks after the earthquake, we attempted to trace these households in order to re-interview them. The questionnaire examined mortality and injuries generated by the natural disaster, as well as the character of victimization, food …

Living Off Crime, Kenneth Tunnell

Kenneth Tunnell

A sociological exploration of highly active property offenders who commit themselves to careers in serious property crimes, such as burglary and armed robbery. This book takes the unique approach of situating these criminal careers within the fundamental sociological concepts of social class, criminal subcultures, and consciousness. Kenneth D. Tunnell brings class back into the dialogue of property crime among the highly criminally active and economically marginalized, and gives considerable treatment to the subcultural values of this group. The book does not ignore the politics of repetitive property offenders' behaviours; rather, it describes their actions as political, yet absent of politicized …

Mythology Of Crime And Criminal Justice, Victor Kappeler, Gary Potter, Mark Blumberg

Vic Kappeler

Now in its fourth edition, this widely used and superior alternative to traditional criminal justice books continues both effectively and clearly to debunk myths cited in the popular literature regarding the problems of criminality in the U.S. It serves as a solid foundation for readers to probe beneath popular notions of crime, criminals, and crime control. Each well-written chapter provides a distinct avenue for exploring misconceptions about specific crimes or particular aspects of the system. Kappeler and Potter’s provocative examination of the realities of crime and justice is a must read for anyone serious about crime, criminal justice, or criminology.