Work

Structural Covariates of Homicide Rates

Year: 2007

Type: article

Abstract: Most previous empirical comparative studies of homicide examine homicide rates across nations or subnational units within a single country. This study is the first in which a European cross-national city comparison is made. The article aims to provide insight into the extent that the homicide rates are related to the social and economic forces characterizing a sample of European cities. Derived from theories rooted in classic works, including social disorganization, strain, and urbanism, are six hypothesized effects of structural forces on homicide rates. Analyses show that cities' deprivation and population structure indexes are strong predictors of homicide rates. The predicted effects of unemployment rates, population heterogeneity, and age structure on homicide rates, however, were not consistently corroborated by these results. Comparing Eastern and Western European countries, the authors also find support for the influence of the country's level of development on city-level homicide rates.

Source: Homicide Studies

DOI: 10.1177/1088767907304072

Authors: Patricia L. McCall, Paul Nieuwbeerta

Institutions: North Carolina State University, Utrecht University, Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement

Language: English

Topic: Crime Patterns and Interventions

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Peace, justice, and strong institutions, Sustainable cities and communities

Open Access status: green

OpenAlex ID: W2114355318

FWCI: 30.38

Cites: 78

Cited by: 117

Related to: 10