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27 Law & Soc'y Rev. 263 (1993)
Economic Deprivation and Neighborhood Crime Rates, 1960-1980

handle is hein.journals/lwsocrw27 and id is 273 raw text is: Crime, Class, and Community-An Emerging Paradigm Economic Deprivation and Neighborhood Crime Rates, 1960-1980 Robert J. Bursik, Jr. Harold G. Grasmick The social disorganization model of crime and delinquency generally has argued that the socioeconomic composition of neighborhoods is related to rates of illegal behavior only to the extent that it increases the likelihood of residential turnover and racial/ethnic heterogeneity. Such an orientation reflects the traditional assumption of human ecology that urban areas are characterized by continual processes of residential upgrading as groups be- come progressively assimilated into the economic structure of the commu- nity and have more economic resources at their disposal. However, the valid- ity of the indirect effect hypothesis may have become questionable in the many cities that have experienced a significant economic decline during the last few decades, thereby leading to the creation of an immobile underclass population. We examine here the relative validity of the indirect effect hy- pothesis in Chicago's neighborhoods during 1960 and 1980. While the find- ings generally support the traditional indirect effect assumption of social dis- organization, they also emphasize the need to consider the economic and political contexts in which these communities are embedded. The presumed relationship between economic deprivation and the number of crimes committed by the residents of a par- ticular neighborhood is one of the lasting legacies of the re- search of Clifford Shaw, Henry McKay, and associates (1929, 1942, 1969). As noted by the theoretical explications of Korn- hauser (1978), Tittle (1983), and Bursik and Grasmick (1993), their social disorganization framework assumed that this rela- tionship was an indirect one, mediated in turn by the residen- tial instability and heterogeneity of the neighborhood and by the regulatory capacity of the area. Nevertheless, despite the indirect nature of its effect on crime rates, the economic com- position of local urban communities was the key ecological fac- The authors would like to acknowledge the very helpful, constructive and in- sightful comments of John Hagan, Al Liska, and Susan Silbey on an earlier version of this article. Address correspondence to Robert J. Bursik, Department of Sociology, University of Oklahoma, 900 Asp Avenue, Norman, Oklahoma 73019-0250. Law & Society Review, Volume 27, Number 2 (1993) © 1993 by The Law and Society Association. All rights reserved.

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