SAGE Journal Articles

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Journal Article 1: Burek, M. W. (2005). Now serving part two crimes: Testing the relationship between welfare spending and property crimesCriminal Justice Policy Review16, 360–384.
Abstract: Studies that examine the effects of welfare, specifically the program of Aid to Families of Dependent Children (AFDC), have primarily examined the relationship between public assistance spending and index, or part one, offenses. In general, the results of past studies have found a negative relationship between welfare and serious crime rates. To date, however, few studies have examined the effects of welfare on the more prevalent part two crimes. Given that previous examinations have found an inverse relationship between index crimes and welfare spending, changes in levels of spending could potentially affect both categories of crime in unwanted directions. As such, this study examined both part one and part two property crimes in relation to welfare spending from 1980 to 1990 in Kentucky counties. Significant positive findings were observed between AFDC spending and part two property crimes.

Journal Article 2: Rice, K. J., & Smith, W. R. (2002). Socioecological models of automotive theft: Integrating routine activity and social disorganization approachesJournal of Research in Crime and Delinquency39, 304–336.
Abstract: This study explores causes of variation in auto theft rates using spatial data with face blocks as a unit of analysis. An integration of routine activity theory and social disorganization theory is proposed, premised on an empirical basis of interaction effects and a pattern of automobile theft diffusion. The results show that the integration of social disorganization theory and routine activity theory significantly increases the predictive power of the analyses and reveals several new socioecological implications for how and why auto theft occurs.

Journal Article 3: Montoya, L., Junger, M., & Ongena, Y. (2016). The relation between residential property and its surroundings and day- and night-time residential burglary. Environment and Behavior48, 515–549.
Abstract: This article examines how residential property and its surroundings influence day- and night-time residential burglary. Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles of territoriality, surveillance, access control, target hardening, image maintenance, and activity support underpin the study. Data were collected by observing 851 houses in the city of Enschede, half of which were burgled and half representing a random selection of houses not burgled. Multilevel multinomial regression models were estimated for predicting day- and night-time burglaries. The findings show that territoriality and access control predict daytime burglary while access control and target hardening predict night-time burglary. The analysis controls for offender availability, target attractiveness, and residential stability. The conclusion is that two separate burglary prevention frameworks are needed: one for day-and another one for night-time burglary.