This study tests the effect of the composition and distribution of economic resources and race/ethnicity in cities, as well as how they are geographically distributed within these cities, on crime rates over a 30-year period.  Using data on 352 cities from 1970 to 2000 in metropolitan areas that experienced a large growth in population after World War II, this study theorizes that the effect of racial/ethnic or economic segregation on crime is stronger in cities in which race/ethnicity or income are more salient (due to greater heterogeneity or inequality).  We test and find that higher levels of segregation in cities with high levels of racial/ethnic heterogeneity leads to particularly high overall levels of the types of crime studied here (aggravated assaults, robberies, burglaries, and motor vehicle thefts).  Similarly, higher levels of economic segregation lead to much higher levels of crime in cities with higher levels of inequality.

We studied a sample of re-entering parolees in California in 2005-06 to examine whether the social structural context of the census tract, as well as nearby tracts, along with the relative physical closeness of social providers, affects serious recidivism resulting in imprisonment.  We found that a one standard deviation increase in the presence of nearby social service providers (within two miles) decreases the likelihood of recidivating 41%, and that this protective effect was particularly strong for African American parolees.  This protective effect was diminished by over-taxed services (as proxied by potential demand).  We found that higher concentrated disadvantage and social disorder (as measured by bar and liquor store capacity) in the tract increases recidivism, but also that higher levels of disadvantage and disorder in nearby tracts increase recidivism.  A one standard deviation increase in the concentrated disadvantage of the focal neighborhood and the surrounding neighborhoods increases the likelihood of recidivating 26%.  The findings suggest that the social context to which parolees return (both in their own neighborhood and nearby neighborhoods), as well as the geographic accessibility of social service agencies, plays an important role in their successful reintegration.

Previous research frequently observes a positive cross-sectional relationship between racial/ethnic minorities and crime and generally posits that this relationship is entirely due to the effect of minorities on neighborhood crime rates.  This study posits that at least some of this relationship might be due to the opposite effect:  neighborhood crime increases the number of racial/ethnic minorities.  This study employs a unique sample (the American Housing Survey neighborhood sample) focusing on housing units nested in micro-neighborhoods over three waves from 1985 to 1993.  This allows us to test and find that such racial/ethnic transformation occurs due to two effects:  first, white households that perceive more crime in the neighborhood, or that live in micro-neighborhoods with more commonly perceived crime, are more likely to move out of such neighborhoods.  Second, whites are significantly less likely to move into a housing unit in a micro-neighborhood with more commonly perceived crime, whereas African American and Latino households are more likely to move into such units.