Gangs in America’s Communities
Second Edition
SAGE Journal Articles
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- Pyrooz, D. C. (2011).Structural covariates of gang homicide in Large US cities. Journal of Research on Crime and Delinquency, 49, 489-518.
- Abstract: Abstract Objectives: This study examined the structural covariates of gang homicide in large U.S. cities and whether the structural conditions associated with gang homicide differed from non-gang homicide. Methods: Several national data sources were used to gather information on the structural conditions of the 88 largest U.S. cities, including the U.S. Census Bureau, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics, Uniform Crime Report, and National Gang Center. Negative binomial regression was used to model the relationship between the structural conditions of cities and homicide rates. Results: Socioeconomic deprivation, official rates of gang membership, and population density explained between-city variability in gang homicide rates. In addition, quadratic associations were observed for socioeconomic deprivation and population density. Equality of coefficients tests revealed that the structural covariates of gang homicide differed in magnitude from non-gang homicide. Conclusions: Prior to this study, the etiology of gang homicide was found to differ from other homicide types in terms of event characteristics and sub-city correlates. This macro-level study extended this line of research to cities, providing evidence that the structural correlates of violence operated differently for gang homicide.
- Abstract: Abstract Objectives: This study examined the structural covariates of gang homicide in large U.S. cities and whether the structural conditions associated with gang homicide differed from non-gang homicide. Methods: Several national data sources were used to gather information on the structural conditions of the 88 largest U.S. cities, including the U.S. Census Bureau, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics, Uniform Crime Report, and National Gang Center. Negative binomial regression was used to model the relationship between the structural conditions of cities and homicide rates. Results: Socioeconomic deprivation, official rates of gang membership, and population density explained between-city variability in gang homicide rates. In addition, quadratic associations were observed for socioeconomic deprivation and population density. Equality of coefficients tests revealed that the structural covariates of gang homicide differed in magnitude from non-gang homicide. Conclusions: Prior to this study, the etiology of gang homicide was found to differ from other homicide types in terms of event characteristics and sub-city correlates. This macro-level study extended this line of research to cities, providing evidence that the structural correlates of violence operated differently for gang homicide.
- Chavez, G. M., & Griffiths, E. (2009). Neighborhood dynamics of urban violence: Understanding the immigration connection. Homicide Studies, 13, 261-273.
- Abstract: Social disorganization is the dominant framework linking neighborhood patterns of immigration to local rates of crime and violence despite inconsistent findings and evidence to the contrary. Using tract-level census data from 1970 to 1990 and Chicago homicide data from 1980 to 1995, this study explores whether and how the changing face of immigration is (un)related to homicide patterns within the contemporary urban environment. The results show that stable and consistent growth in foreign born is not associated with neighborhood trends in violence, whereas growth in recent arrivals occurs almost exclusively within the safest neighborhoods of the city. This research highlights the need to distinguish recent waves of immigrants/migrants from their historic counterparts.
- Abstract: Social disorganization is the dominant framework linking neighborhood patterns of immigration to local rates of crime and violence despite inconsistent findings and evidence to the contrary. Using tract-level census data from 1970 to 1990 and Chicago homicide data from 1980 to 1995, this study explores whether and how the changing face of immigration is (un)related to homicide patterns within the contemporary urban environment. The results show that stable and consistent growth in foreign born is not associated with neighborhood trends in violence, whereas growth in recent arrivals occurs almost exclusively within the safest neighborhoods of the city. This research highlights the need to distinguish recent waves of immigrants/migrants from their historic counterparts.
- Allen, A. N. & Lo, C.C. (2013). Drugs, guns, and disadvantaged youths: Co-occuring behavior and the code of the street. Crime and Delinquency, 932-953.
- Abstract: Guided by Anderson’s theory of the code of the street, this study explored social mechanisms linking individual-level disadvantage factors with the adoption of beliefs grounded in the code of the street and with drug trafficking and gun carrying—the co-occurring behavior shaping violence among young men in urban areas. Secondary data were employed from a sample of male inmates and a sample of male high school students. Data analysis indicated that the social disadvantage factor absent father significantly predicted this co-occurring behavior in the inmate sample, whereas the social disadvantage factor history of expulsion did so in the student sample. In both samples, race and adopting beliefs about gun carrying from the code of the street were significant predictors of drug trafficking and gun carrying. The results do not suggest that such code-based beliefs’ impact on drug trafficking and gun carrying differs by race. Implications for social policy are discussed.