DETERMINISM,INDETERMINISM, AND CRIME: AN EMPIRICAL EXPLORATION*

Most individual-level research in criminology is based on a deterministic model: the factors that constrain individuals to crime or conformity are listed, and those factors are used to predict differences in the level of crime between individuals or groups of similar individuals. This paper explores an empirical model derived from recent work on sop determinism and indeterminism. Behaviors are said to vary in the extent to which they are determined, with behavior being fully determined at one end of the continuum and largely free (indetermined) at the other end. There is a discussion of those factors that influence the extent to which behavior is determined. And it is hypothesized that crime will be more variable and less predictable when conditions favor indeterminism. The empirical model in this paper, then, focuses on those factors believed to foster freedom of action and choice, and it uses those factors to predict differences in the amount of variation (unpredictability) in crime between individuals or groups of similar individuals. Data from two national surveys of adolescents provide tentative support for the hypothesis.     

Aggregation effects on male-to-female arrest rate ratios in New York State, 1972 to 1984

The purpose of this paper is to assess the effects of data aggregation on a specification of the relationship between sex and arrest rate trends. The analysis focuses on the empirical implications when arrest data are aggregated across dimensions that are likely to affect the sex-crime relationship. The data for the analysis consist of 4,119,358 male and female adult arrests in New York State for the 13-year period ending in 1984. Results indicate that race, regional differences, and the legal seriousness of the arrest charge produce significantly different patterns of sex convergence across time. On the basis of these results, we suggest serious limitations in past analyses of female crime rates and in the value of Uniform Crime Report (UCR) data for addressing theoretically relevant questions concerning the social correlates of official crime.     

Low Crime Rates in Bahrain: Islamic Social Control-Testing the Theory of Synnomie

This pioneer work builds upon the systems of social control (synnomie) developed by Freda Adler (1983). Its intent is to assess the low crime profile of Bahrain and in so doing to offer explanations for this country's low crime rates. While there is crime in Bahrain, this country appears to be the exception to the rule that rapid industrialization breeds high crime. The unique situation in Bahrain will be analyzed by: giving an overview of the country of Bahrain, examining recent crime statistics reported by official agencies in Bahrain, the United States, and in addition, the state of Vermont. The official sources of these data are not considered to be the most reliable indicators of crime, but they are the most comparable. Vermont is used for the comparison of numbers since it has an approximate population to Bahrain.

Low statistics of the amount of crime are reported for Bahrain which form the foundation for this paper. This paper offers possible explanations of low crime by using as its base the theory of synnomie (the consistency of norm and values sharing); and summarizes the main points in this paper and draws conclusions which point in the direction for the future of Bahrain, its citizens, and incidences of reported crime as Bahrain continues with its mission of modernization.     

General Theory and Global Criminology: Childhood Environments,Problem Behaviors,and a Focus on Prevention

General theories of crime and delinquency are tested in part by their ability to explain the empirical findings of cross-national research. Systematic research using comparable survey methods provides a rich body of data from many countries and settings that inform such tests. There are several aspects of the general theory proposed by Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990) that facilitate the idea of global criminology which, coupled with this growing research literature, support the idea of general theories of crime. These include use of a “crime-free” definition for dependent variables, disciplinary-free assumptions about human nature, appreciating the distinction between propensities and events in crime theory, incorporating the burgeoning empirical literature from many disciplines stressing the importance of childhood environments and self-control, and focusing on recent successful prevention efforts. A set of research needs stimulated by modern global criminology are also proposed.     

DO NEIGHBORHOODS GENERATE FEAR OF CRIME? AN EMPIRICAL TEST USING THE BRITISH CRIME SURVEY*

For a long time, criminologists have contended that neighborhoods are important determinants of how individuals perceive their risk of criminal victimization. Yet, despite the theoretical importance and policy relevance of these claims, the empirical evidence base is surprisingly thin and inconsistent. Drawing on data from a national probability sample of individuals, linked to independent measures of neighborhood demographic characteristics, visual signs of physical disorder, and reported crime, we test four hypotheses about the mechanisms through which neighborhoods influence fear of crime. Our large sample size, analytical approach, and the independence of our empirical measures enable us to overcome some of the limitations that have hampered much previous research into this question. We find that neighborhood structural characteristics, visual signs of disorder, and recorded crime all have direct and independent effects on individual‐level fear of crime. Additionally, we demonstrate that individual differences in fear of crime are strongly moderated by neighborhood socioeconomic characteristics; between‐group differences in expressed fear of crime are both exacerbated and ameliorated by the characteristics of the areas in which people live.     

Making the second step before the first: Assessing organized crime

The debate on organized crime has shifted from the question of “myth or reality?” to efforts to come to an assessment of the nature and extent of organized crime. This paper discusses the possibilities and limits of such an endeavor in the case of Germany. A meaningful assessment requires linking the concept of organized crime to clearly defined empirical referents, having a thorough understanding of their dynamics and interrelations, and obtaining valid and reliable data. It is argued that these requirements cannot be met given the present paucity in theory and data. From the available aggregate data contained in the official crime statistics and annual situation reports on organized crime drawn up by the federal police agency BKA no overall trends are discernible. Where trends are identifiable, they mostly pertain not to patterns of criminal cooperation but to contextual factors. In contrast, the analysis of individual cases may serve to shed some light on the situation of organized crime, provided they are put in perspective with a differentiated conceptualization. A four-fold typology of criminal networks based on differences in the social embeddedness of criminal actors suggests that the seriousness of the problem may depend on the likelihood of the manipulation of relevant decision-making processes. Germany is not characterized by alliances between underworld and upperworld, but the existence of criminal networks within the upperworld gives grounds for concern.     

Of bogus hunters,queenpins and mules: the varied roles of women in transnational organized crime in Southern Africa

Organized crime scholars have paid scant attention to gender and stereotyped roles of women in the commission of organized crime activities. Traditionally, organized crime is seen as a form of criminality perpetrated by men only. Women are usually portrayed as victims of organized crime or as “mean girls”, girlfriends, wives, lovers of brides of notorious gangsters and mobsters. In the southern African context, little historical or comparative data is available on the role of women in organized crime. Existing data is basic and proceeds on the assumption of gender-neutrality or the implied male composition of organized crime groups. The link of women to organized crime is one of suffering and exploitation. However, in reality women fulfill varied roles and functions within transnational organized crime networks in the region. In some instances, they are the foot soldiers of drug and human trafficking syndicates. Sometimes they are the intermediaries or powerful matriarchs at the apex of transnational organized crime networks. Reliant on empirical findings undertaken for a regional 3-year project on organized crime trends in southern Africa, this paper will examine the dynamism of the role of women in organized crime in the region and argues that women play a multifaceted role with implications for themselves, their families, society and organized crime. Gender mainstreaming within scholarly literature and policy research is in nascent stages, this paper pleads for a more gender-sensitive approach to organized crime analysis.     

How do Visitors Affect Crime?

This paper, which uses data on National Park visitors between 1979 and 1998 and every county in the United States, is the most exhaustive examination to date of how visitors affect crime. After controlling for many other factors that influence crime, the county-level regressions consistently indicate that national park visitors have no effect on either property or violent crime. These results are true for a variety of different measures of park visitors, for different empirical specifications, and for different regression formats. We therefore conclude that some visitor types have no impact on crime. This conclusion sheds light on the empirical issue of whether only some types of recreational visitors increase crime or whether visitors, regardless of their type, necessarily increase crime.     

Evidence Based EU Criminal Policy Making: In Search of Matching Data

EU criminal policy making is a relatively new policy domain and its credibility is said to be undermined by the lack of an evidence base. Because the EU claims to pursue evidence based policy making, this justifies reviewing the mechanisms put in place to that end. To properly evaluate the evidence base in EU criminal policy making, an assessment is made of the availability of comparable crime statistics. Crime statistics, a vital data source for criminal policy making, are considered highly problematic at EU level due to (amongst other reasons) the differences in the definition of the offences. In spite of the good intentions that can be read into the repeated acknowledgement of the importance of crime statistics and the efforts to commonly define EU worthy offences, a thorough empirical analysis leads to the conclusion that we are still in search of valid EU level data with respect to the EU level offences. The EU as a policy maker does not take its responsibility to ensure the availability of the necessary comparable crime statistical data serious enough.     

THE ELUSIVE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS AND CRIME: AN ASSESSMENT ACROSS DISADVANTAGED AREAS OF THE SOUTH BRONX

Several theoretical perspectives posit a negative association between the extent of a neighborhood's organizational infrastructure and crime; yet, empirical support for this proposition has been limited in that researchers generally examine only a few types of organizations or combine them into one aggregate measure. Studies with few measures may omit organizations that are effective at reducing crime, whereas those using aggregate measures obscure differences across organizations in their ability to control crime. Using data from 74 block groups in the South Bronx, NY, this research seeks to specify more clearly the relationship between organizations and crime in a disadvantaged urban environment. We examine the relationship among nine different types of organizations and violent and property crime controlling for prior crime, land use, and area sociodemographic characteristics. Consistent with theories that highlight the importance of organizations for establishing ties outside the neighborhood, we find that block groups with more organizations that bridge to the larger community experience a decrease in crime. Property crime also is reduced in block groups with more organizations that promote the well‐being of families and children. We find that schools are associated with an increase in property crime, whereas the effects of other organizations are context specific and vary based on neighborhood racial composition, commercial land use, and disadvantage.     

POLICE EMPLOYMENT AND SUBURBAN CRIME

Although politicians, police, and others have often advocated the expansion of police employment in the effort to control crime, the empirical relationship between police employment and crime rates has seldom been systematically explored. This study incorporates variables which are causally related both to crime and police employment roles for the 252 northern and northeastern suburbs for which police employment and crime data are available for 1970–1972. Separate analyses of violent and property crime are undertaken, incorporating data on police employment as a causally related variable along with several other determinants of crime identified in earlier studies. The analysis suggests that police employment and crime rates are reciprocally related, and that these relationships offer more support for a “labeling” than a “deterrence” perspective.     

CRIMES, DISORDERS, AND THE DEMAND FOR HANDGUNS: An Empirical Analysis

In a recent paper, Bordua and Lizotte (1979) analyze determinants of firearm ownership using cross-sectional data for Illinois counties. Noting that firearms may be purchased for the purpose of sport, self-protection, or crime, they present clear evidence of sporting demand and limited evidence of defensive motives in the pattern of gun ownership. Crime rates are significant only in the equation explaining gun ownership by women (1979: 161). The purpose of the present article is to supplement the findings of Bordua and Lizotte and earlier empirical studies by focusing on the demand for handguns alone. In particular, the article analyzes the role of crime rates and fear of violence in motivating citizens to buy and keep handguns. For this purpose, aggregate time-series and cross-sectional data on handgun sales were collected and analyzed. Because handguns are durable pieces of equipment, it is necessary to use a model that distinguishes the stock of handguns at any one time from the rate of handgun purchases.     

CAUSES OF WHITE-COLLAR CRIME*

This paper begins with a conceptual analysis of the idea of white-collar crime. It considers data relevant to popular images of white-collar crime and outlines a general theory of crime explicitly applicable to both ordinary and white-collar crime. This theory is compared with traditional explanations of white-collar crime, and several explicit empirical tests of rival views are described.     

Women,brokerage and transnational organized crime. Empirical results from the Dutch Organized Crime Monitor

This paper analyzes the role of women in various types of transnational organized crime and tests the ‘gendered markets’ hypothesis by Zhang et al. (Criminology 45(3):699–733 2007) for a wide cross-section of 150 cases from the Dutch Organized Crime Monitor. The main information sources for the Dutch Organized Crime Monitor are closed Dutch police investigations into criminal groups, often spanning a period of several years. Following four data sweeps, a wide cross-section of 150 cases was collected about various forms of organized crime (period 1994–2011): ‘traditional’ drug trafficking cases (cocaine, heroin, and cannabis), but also other—less frequently prioritized—phenomena such as synthetic drugs (production and export), human smuggling, human trafficking, and fraud and money laundering. The paper discusses several important theoretical perspectives from the organized crime literature: the gendered markets hypothesis; the social embeddedness of (transnational) organized crime: and the idea of brokerage. Furthermore, empirical data are presented on how often women play a (prominent) role in different types of criminal activities and which roles they play. These findings are related to the ‘gendered markets’ hypothesis and alternative explanations. Further qualitative analysis is presented on the transnational aspects which can be discerned in the studied cases: transnational marriage and transnational relationships; language and mediation; and migration and legal status. Finally, the main conclusions are discussed as well as their theoretical and empirical relevance.     

EDWIN H. SUTHERLAND AND THE MICHAEL‐ADLER REPORT: SEARCHING FOR THE SOUL OF CRIMINOLOGY SEVENTY YEARS LATER*

In response to a devastating critique of the state of criminology known as the Michael‐Adler Report, Edwin H. Sutherland created differential association theory as a paradigm for the field of criminology. I contend that Sutherland's strategy was flawed because he embraced a sociological model of crime and in doing so adopted a form of sociological positivism. Furthermore, Sutherland ignored key facts about crime that were contrary to his theoretical predilections. Recognizing that facts must come first and that criminology is an interdisciplinary field of study, I offer life‐course criminology as a paradigm for understanding the causes and dynamics of crime. In addition, I identify three warning signs that I believe inhibit the advancement of criminology as a science and a serious intellectual enterprise.     

The contributions of economic factors to female involvement in economic crime

Recent assessments of the causes of female criminality have been praised as signaling a turning away from the unfounded, sexist explanations of the past. However, new interpretations of the causes of female crime are not more likely to be rooted in empirical data than the explanations that focused solely on female biology. This paper examines new trends in the explanation of female economic crime as well as empirical data on the motivations and attributes of femole, economic offenders and suggests direction for future research.     

Causal factors of corporate crime in Taiwan: qualitative and quantitative findings

Street crimes are a primary concern of most criminologists in Taiwan. In recent years, however, crimes committed by corporations have increased greatly in this country. Employing the empirical approach to collect data about causal factors of corporate crime, the research presented in this article is the first systematic empirical study concerning corporate crime in Taiwan. The research sample was selected from a corporation with a criminal record of pollution caused by the release of toxic chemicals into the environment and a corporation with no criminal record. Questionnaire survey and interviews of corporate employees and managers were conducted, and secondary data were collected from official agencies. This research indicated the causal factors of corporate crime as follows: the failure of government regulation, lack of corporate self-regulation, lack of public concern about corporate crime, corporate mechanistic structure, and the low self-control tendency of corporate managers.     

Institutional anomie and cross-national differences in incarceration†

Messner and Rosenfeld's (2007) institutional anomie theory (IAT) has mainly been applied by criminologists to explain crime rates at various aggregate levels. However, Messner and Rosenfeld also suggest that the same social and cultural forces that lead to high crime may explain differences in punishment, although this latter proposition has yet to be subject to empirical testing. Using a variety of data sources for 41 countries measuring various structural and cultural configurations, in this study we assess the extent to which IAT can explain cross-national differences in incarceration. Our results indicate that the strength of the economic institution and the extent of institutional imbalance reflecting a dominant economic institution are positively associated with incarceration rates when the national culture is characterized by individualism, a competitive achievement orientation, or both. A national culture characterized by both collectivism and a cooperative achievement orientation, however, serves as a buffer against the punitive effects of an institutional imbalance that favors the economy. Our results are discussed in the context of the extant IAT literature and future research on cross-national incarceration.     

Exploring the crime of identity theft: Prevalence, clearance rates, and victim/offender characteristics

Although the crime of identity theft has garnered a great deal of media attention, relatively little empirical research existed on the prevalence of the crime, its clearance rate by arrest, or the demographic characteristics of the victims and the identifiable offenders. The purpose of this article is to expand the knowledge of this growing crime. Using data from a large municipal police department located in Florida as a database, the findings suggested that the number of reported incidents of identity theft appeared to be growing at a greater rate than other theft-related offenses and the clearance rate for identity theft appeared to be declining. The typical apprehended offender was African American, female, unemployed, working alone, and was unknown to the victims, who tended to be White and male.     

THE MYTH OF SOCIAL CLASS AND CRIME REVISITED: AN EXAMINATION OF CLASS AND ADULT CRIMINALITY*

Although recent empirical research questions the conclusion that crime is highest in the lower class, this empirical literature is plagued by limited measures of social class or of crime and by a failure to study systematically the effect of social class on crime in the adult general population. The present work was undertaken in an attempt to rectify many of the inadequacies of the class‐crime research. Self‐report data were collected from a general population of adult residents in a large, midwestern city and were analyzed to assess the effects of a wide range of class measures on crime measures. The overall results produced from a sample of 555 adults demonstrated that regardless of how class or crime were measured, social class exerted little direct influence on adult criminality in the general population. Consistent with research findings from nonself‐report studies, social class was related to criminal involvement for nonwhites.