THE VICTIM–OFFENDER OVERLAP IN CONTEXT: EXAMINING THE ROLE OF NEIGHBORHOOD STREET CULTURE*

Although numerous studies have found a strong relationship between offending and victimization risk, the etiology of this relationship is not well understood. Largely absent from this research is an explicit focus on neighborhood processes. However, theoretical work found in the subculture of violence literature implies that neighborhood street culture may help to account for the etiology of this phenomenon. Specifically, we should expect the magnitude of the victim–offender overlap to vary closely with neighborhood‐based violent conduct norms. This research uses waves 1 and 2 of the Family and Community Health Study (FACHS) to test the empirical validity of these notions. Our results show that the victim–offender overlap is not generalizeable across neighborhood contexts; in fact, it is especially strong in neighborhoods where the street culture predominates, whereas it is significantly weaker in areas where this culture is less prominent. These results indicate that neighborhood‐level cultural processes help to explain the victim–offender overlap, and they may cause this phenomenon to be context specific.     

Gender and general strain theory: A preliminary test of Broidy and Agnew's gender/GST hypotheses

Some scholars argue for sex-specific explanations of criminal behavior, while others opt for more general theories of crime. In this article, we elaborate on recent explorations of gender differences in general strain theory (GST). Using data obtained from self-report interviews of delinquent youths, we implemented measures of strain, negative emotions, and coping resources to examine sex differences in GST-related processes across both interpersonal and property offending. The results offer some support for Broidy and Agnew's gender/general strain hypotheses and, at the same time, offer modifications and extensions for future research on GST.     

Broken Windows or Window Breakers: The Influence of Physical and Social Disorder on Quality of Life

The relationship between neighborhood disorder and fear of crime is well established. According to Wilson and Kelling's broken windows theory, physical and social disorder lead to fear and cause citizens to retreat into their homes. This breaks down informal social control mechanisms and may lead to more serious crime. Insofar as fear is related to quality of life, an implication of broken windows theory is that disorder may impact quality of life, but that relationship has not yet been examined in the research literature. The present study seeks to fill a void in the literature by investigating the relationship between neighborhood disorder and quality of life. Results indicate that disorder is related to quality of life. In particular, physical disorder is negatively associated with quality of life, but social disorder loses significance when controlling for physical disorder. Policy implications of the findings and direction for future research are discussed.     

Clarifying the Effects of Neighborhood Context on Violence “Behind Closed Doors”

Research on neighborhood-level effects on intimate partner violence (IPV) has expanded significantly in the past two decades. However, to date, studies have been unable to disentangle compositional and contextual effects on IPV and have rarely considered the social mechanisms that might link neighborhood conditions to IPV. Using data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods, this study considers individual and contextual influences on violence between partners, and examines the effects of disadvantage and collective efficacy on this type of behavior. Results indicate that neighborhood disadvantage significantly increases and collective efficacy significantly decreases IPV after controlling for individual-level correlates. Our findings add to a growing body of evidence suggesting that as with street crime, neighborhood disadvantage also exacerbates rates of IPV. However, unlike street crime, the impact of disadvantage on IPV does not appear to be mediated by collective efficacy. Understanding how collective efficacy affects violence between partners remains an open issue.     

The Long Arm of Poverty: Extended and Relational Geographies of Child Victimization and Neighborhood Violence Exposures

Current models of neighborhood effects on victimization predominantly assume that residential neighborhoods function independent of their surroundings. Yet, a surprising proportion of violence occurs outside of victims’ residential neighborhoods. The current study extends on recent advances in spatial dynamics and neighborhood effects to explore the importance of different geographic scales and relational exposures to poverty for child violent victimization. We examine longitudinal data on over 4400 low-income children from high poverty neighborhoods in five cities, who participated in the Moving to Opportunity randomized intervention. The results suggest that surrounding poverty matters for child victimization beyond the effect of residential poverty. Moreover, moving farther from extreme poverty also seems to buffer against victimization and to amplify the benefits of moving to improved extended (residential and surrounding) neighborhoods. All the children in the study, but especially boys older than 10 years of age, seemed to be affected by the long arm of poverty.     

Does neighborhood watch reduce crime? A systematic review and meta-analysis

Neighborhood watch grew out of a movement in the USA during the late 1960s that promoted greater involvement of citizens in the prevention of crime. Recent estimates suggest that over a quarter of the UK population and over 40% of the US population live in areas covered by neighborhood watch schemes. The current paper presents the results of a recent systematic review of evaluations of neighborhood watch. The main findings of the narrative review were that about half of the schemes evaluated showed that neighborhood watch was effective in reducing crime, with most of the other evaluations having uncertain effects. The main findings of the meta-analysis were that 15 of the 18 studies provided evidence that neighborhood watch reduced crime. While the results of the review are encouraging, it was concluded that more high-quality research needs to be done to help explain why study variations exist.