MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS
As previously discussed, the calculation of racial disparity is not quite straight forward. In many times, it entails other factors to be taken into consideration. In this context, we wanted to confirm the above racial disparity calculation by using multivariate analysis. Such analyses are vital for any jurisdiction in order to clearly understand the driven social/economic force(s) behind the racial disparity gap. Given this context, the rest of the study will be related to the results of Hierarchical Linear Model (HLM).
The first interest for HLM analysis is to figure out whether outcome variable of interest (violent arrest counts for this case) has a significant variation at level-2 (neighborhood level). Putting it
…show more content…
Given this context, three neighborhood level variables, number of liquor stores, percent vacant houses, and concentrated disadvantage were determined as the best level-2 predictors to explain neighborhood level substantial variance identified by the unconditional model. Table 9 shows the introduction of these three level-2 variables in the HLM equation. When these level-2 predictors are added to unconditional model, level-2’s (intercept, mean level of violent crime arrests) variance component was substantially reduced.
TABLE 9 IS ABOUT HERE
After determining the appropriate level-2 variables, we introduced both level-1 and level-2 variables to the HLM equation. Model 1 of Table 10 includes only level-1 variables. Except population and percent female headed households, all level-1 predictors are significantly associated with the outcome variable. More specifically, violent crime arrest more likely occurs in block groups where poverty is apparent. However, race (Blacks) variable is still significantly related to violent arrest outcome when number of violent crime suspects was controlled at the block group level. That is, Blacks are disproportionately arrested for violent crimes even controlling for their corresponding population and violent crime commission rate. Note that we specified the slope of “Black population” as random in order to see how race
Racial inequality in the American criminal justice system has a strong effect of many realms of society such as the family life, and employment. Education and race seem to be the most decisive factors when deciding who goes to jail and what age cohort has the greatest percentage chance of incarceration. Going to prison no longer affects just the individual who committed the crime. Instead, the family and community left behind gain a new burden by one individual's actions. The United States still has a large disparity between Whites and Blacks and now a growing Hispanic population. This racial disparity in the educational
Sentencing disparities as a result of an individual’s race or ethnic background, has been one of the most frequently investigated topics in criminological research. (Mitchell, Mackenzie 2004). Several studies have attempted to understand the impact of the offenders’ race on criminal sentencing but there has been variation in the results- some of studies concluded race does effect sentencing regardless of the legal variables; some studies revealed it does not; while other studies concluded that race does impact sentencing when coupled with other factors. (Pratt 1998).
On the other hand, others argue that disproportionality in arrest decisions is commensurate with the racial distributions in offending rather than residential distribution in the population (D’Alessio & Stolzenberg, 2003; Sampson & Lauritsen, 1997). Putting it differently, proponents of this group hold that differential involvement in crime commission leads to higher arrest rates. For this reason, employing frequency of crime involvement as a baseline measure would yield different findings as opposed to relying only population as a baseline measure (Golub et al., 2007).
Often the term “disparities” is related to a specific racial or ethnic group of people, many variations of disparities exist in America, mainly in regards to health. If any outcome from health disparities can be ascertained is populations and regions in America.
The mandatory imprisonment policies written for the judicial system are creating disparity of minority inmate population primarily due to non-violent drug crimes and the unjust mandatory minimum sentencing laws.
truly concerned me growing up. Raised on the North side of San Antonio, Texas, I was never
Meyer, Castro-Schilo, and Aguilar-Gaxiola (2014) found that lower socioeconomic status resulted in higher fears about safety due to the necessity of living in neighborhoods with higher crime rates. Fear about the safety led to lower levels of activity and subsequently
Racial disparity is when a minority group holds the majority in a certain area. For example, African Americans make up about 13% of the population, but hold nearly 40% of the population in prison systems (Jones, 2013, p.). The racial disparity is that the minority’s population in the prisons is greater than the population as a whole. One of the reasons racial disparity is prevalent in the justice system is based on the legislative decisions (Schrantz & McElroy, 2000, p7). The legislative branch passes laws which have foreseeable impacts that are more detrimental to colored communities. For example, the regulations being passed to combat the war on drugs have had a greater impact on the black community because they are more often arrested for drug use than are their white counterparts. Another reason for the prevalence of racial disparity lies in
The first test I will perform is Chi-Square test of independence to compare my categorical data I have against above and below median crime rates. I will be testing above and below averages for population, income, percent white, percent black/African American, percent Hispanic/Latino, percent Asian. I will also be testing direction.
Thus, making these factors vital to examine when looking at violent crime. Social economic factors place structural issues on those in poverty, creating more barriers and thus more opportunities for crime to occur. As Blum states “Criminologist frequently affirm that gender, race, and social class affect criminal involvement; on average, men commit more crime than women, blacks commit more crime than whites, and higher poverty areas have higher crime rates than suburban areas” (2008). Thus, making social economic status an important factor in violent crime. Lynch argues that you must look at class when looking at crime, because if not you are neglecting real-word productions of crime (2015). Asserting that class/poverty and crime influence one another. Furthermore, this is not necessarily a predictor of violent crime, but rather a structural factor that makes more individuals likely to commit violent offense. In addition to this there are many different factors that contribute to low economic status such as underemployment, education, single family house-holds, and disabilities (cite). These factors are often left out of theories that discuss poverty and
This paper explores the relationship between low income and violent crime rate in Unite State over some period of time. This question is research is interested in how income inequality increases crime rate. Between 1975 to 2004 research shows that income earned by the top 5% of America families increased from 15.3% to 20.1%. Families that are at the bottom sees their earning dropped from 5.1% to 4.2%. Data used for this research is been collected from bureau of justice statistics (BJS) from national Crime and victimization survey (NCVS), which provide summary statistics based on a nationality representative sample for a wide range of crimes. Data is been collected from household that are below and above poverty level in the country and non-fall violent victimization, but
The dependent variable for this study was the violent crime rate. This was measured b the number of complaints in the precinct annually for rape, aggravated assault, robbery, homicide and this was divided by the population. When
A common theory in criminology and in sociology suggests that class and race are vital roles regional crime rates. Previous research indicates that the distribution of class and race within certain residential areas has a key role in the outcome of certain violent acts. In his study, Income Inequality, Race, and Place: Does the Distribution of Race and Class within Neighborhoods Affect Crime Rates, John R. Hipp states “Specifically, studies have tested how the distribution of economic resources across neighbor-hoods, as measured by income or poverty, affects neighborhood crime rates or the how the distribution of racial/ethnic minority members across neighborhoods, as measured by the percent nonwhite, and so on, affects neighborhood crime rates (Hipp 2007). While one may traditionally assume that minorities neighborhoods yield a more intensive crime rate, this is not necessarily true.
Crime data came from local police agencies for the FBI's Part I crimes (i.e., homicide, rape, aggravated assaulted assaults, robbery, burglary, larceny, auto theft, and arson) for February through July 1998. Additional data came from computerized crime mapping. Results in both cities revealed that black female residents of public housing were at a much higher risk of aggravated assault than were black and white women who lived elsewhere in the same jurisdiction. However, the geographic pattern for aggravated assaults for black female public housing residents differed markedly in the two cities. The analysis used the perspective of situational crime prevention to attribute the differences in victimization patterns to the different architectural design and geographic dispersion of the respective cities’ public housing developments. (Holzman, Hyatt, & Dempster, 2001)
When we apply the question, which area of the city has the most crime to the descriptive research? In the research process, the first method should always be descriptive. The results of this research attempt to define as well describe the social fact, occurrence, or circumstance observed of each area. This type of research data will include both quantitative and qualitative data which illustrate the population being