Social Organizations in Urban Neighborhoods

Browning, Feinberg, and Dietz (2004) attempt to explore why certain areas and neighborhoods have higher levels of crime and look at the type of social structure established in the area. The authors look at both the interplay between social organization and collective efficacy in attempting to explain crime levels in neighborhoods. The authors point out that social networks not only support collective efficacy but may also serve to give avenues to criminals. The authors attempt to examine how collective efficacy is able to work within social networks against crime. For more.

Neighborhood Clubs

This particular study shows the pros and cons of "neighborhood clubs." In the case of this study a neighborhood club is a support group within the neighborhood that looks at children's feelings toward violence. In addition, it offers multi-cultural support by including children with different ethnicities. For more information about the success of these neighborhood clubs click here.

Community Policing in Urban Neighborhoods

Xu, Fiedler, and Flaming (2005) attempt to look at the efficacy of community policing in reducing crime in neighborhoods. The article points out that community policing organizes community members and strengthens community bonds and relationships. The study also compares the idea of community policing with collective efficacy to see which idea has a stronger role in reducing crime. The study also examines the relationship between crime levels and neighborhood disorder. For more.

The Link between Disadvantage and Crime

Kubrin and Weitzer (2003) examine how neighborhood structural and cultural factors have an impact on homicides that involves retaliatory killings. The authors examine cultural factors regarding homicide in St. Louis, Missouri and notice that economic problems, issues with police, and the neighborhood culture are all factors that influence retaliatory killings. The study shows how violence is dealt with in certain urban neighborhoods. The authors are able to gain an understanding about how cultural and neighborhood factors influence the type of crime in urban neighborhoods. To read the entire article click here.

Community Involvement Against Crime

Bowen, Gwiasda, and Brown (2004) attempt to look at how community efforts can be used as the primary prevention in high levels of crime rates in neighborhoods. This article focuses on the idea that community members by engaging themselves in their neighborhood can serve to prevent violence in their neighborhoods. The article also comments on the fact that certain policies and values within neighborhoods that perpetuate racism and biases actually contribute to levels of violence and crime. For more.

Neighborhood Efficacy in Chicago

This study speculates that neighborhood efficacy reduces violence because of friendly support between residents. In other words, this is seen through neighbors watching each other's children, providing playgroups, and intervening in altercations in the neighborhood. Therefore, violence may not be due to issues such as race, but rather due to lack of residential stability. The results of this study show that residential stability does reduce violence. For more.

The Social Disorganization of Neighborhoods

Triplett, Sun, and Gainey (2005) attempt to explore how social disorganization theory affects a neighborhood’s ability and willingness to put forth a certain level of social control. The article attempts to examine the linkage between ability and willingness related to social control. The social ties that determine levels of informal social control are also examined in this study. The authors also incorporate Sampson’s idea of collective efficacy when they discuss the willingness of individuals to put forth levels of social control. See more.

Community Strain and Neighborhood Violence

Warner and Fowler (2003) examine Agnew’s General Strain Theory, and they examine its effects on a macro level. They are examining the relationship between neighborhood disadvantage and stability, and they look at how both neighborhood disadvantage and stability impact levels of strain in neighborhoods. The impact of informal social control and social support/capital on strain is also a topic of interest in this article. The role of informal social control and social capital along with neighborhood disadvantage and stability help to explain the strain discussed in Agnew’s General Strain Theory from a macro perspective. For more.

Homicide Rate Dropping in Compton, CA

This article describes an anti-gang task force that rides the streets of Compton to reduce street violence...

"We're after guns because guns kill people, and we're after gangsters because we're out to lower the murder rate"

- Task Force Officer

For the entire article click here.

Hip Hop Your Way to Violent Free Neighborhoods!

Reverend Carol L. Scott, recently deceased, was known for her work in decreasing violence in neighborhoods and increasing community building activities. Activities include hip hop friday nights at the local church, and a mock funeral procession where guns were buried to represent the death of violence. She spent her life trying to save the lives of young people in the Los Angeles area. For more on Carol L. Scott click here.

A Model of Collective Efficacy

Duncan et al. (2003) examined the concept of collective efficacy by looking at both neighborhood and individual level variables. Census data and neighborhood characteristics were examined to see their influence on collective efficacy. This article attempts to examine multiple families and neighborhoods in order to gain a better understanding of how collective efficacy can or does work in these areas. For more.

Neighborhood Institutions and Crime

Peterson, Krivo, and Harris (2000) examine whether institutions within communities and neighborhoods contribute to the economic and social problems that in turn contribute to crime and violence in these areas. They look at whether certain types of local institutions in communities and neighborhoods serve to reduce crime levels compared to other types of institutions. The relationship between these institutions along with economic and social problems and crime levels is the primary area of interest for the authors in this article.

Activist Puts Cosby's Words into Action

"We don't have a choice. Either we deal with the problems in the community, or they'll deal with us."

To read the full article click here.

Poverty and Juvenile Delinquency

Ludwig, Duncan, and Hirschfield (2001) examine how juvenile crime is impacted by families moving from high to low poverty neighborhoods and communities. The thought is that removing children from areas with high levels of poverty will reduce the changes of involving themselves in crime. The authors look at juvenile arrest records in order to see if there is a difference between high and low poverty areas. For more.

Crime and the Neighborhood

Krivo and Peterson (1996) look at the relationship between neighborhood conditions and crime. They examine how neighborhood conditions can have an impact on the level of crime in an area. The article also looks at the difference in crime rates in primarily Caucasian and African American neighborhoods and communities. The authors look at the psychological separation that occurs for individuals from impoverished areas compared to areas that have greater development. See more.

Social Workers in the Community

This study looks at participation in neighborhood organizations within poor communities. It is related to the collective efficacy among residents. The results from this study show that the more residents participate in neighborhood organization the greater their level of organizational collective efficacy but not neighborhood collective efficacy. More importantly, this study will support social workers in advocating for the importance of collective efficacy. For more.

The Effects of Neighborhood Violence

This study suggests that low-income African American children may experience physical symptoms in response to neighborhood violence. Jones et al. (2005) looked at three domains of psychosocial adjustment in low-income urban African American children: internalizing, externalizing, and physical symptoms. Further research is needed, but from this study one can see the importance of a neighborhood's influence on children...For more.

Community Problems and Juvenile Delinquency

Hay et al. (2006) examine the relationship between the social context and variables that represent the parent-child relationship on crime levels. Family variables and community levels of disadvantage are examined through U.S. census data and parent ratings. The study looks at how community disadvantage magnifies the problems associated for families with crime. The article primarily looks at the relationship between family problems and social context in determining juvenile crime levels... for more.

Poverty in the Big Apple

In this article Bob Herbert expresses that the greatest challenge most American cities face lies in the increasing divide between "the haves and have-nots." In New York City, one of the primary problems is that kids in the poorest neighborhoods DO NOT feel safe! The kids report feeling worried about the violence levels in their neighborhoods. The article mentions that the upcoming presidential campaign should focus on urban issues. See more.

For an addition to this article click here.

Young People and Violent Crime

Alfred Blumstein examines violence displayed by young people in the latter part of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s. He explains how violence in the late 1980s and early 1990s rose due to the increase in young people committing crimes. The increase in violence committed by young people can be attributed to the accessibility of handguns during this time. Along with the increased use of handguns, the rising drug market with crack cocaine also contributed to the rise of youth violence. For More.

Violence linked to Community Cohesion

This New York Times article describes the largest study ever undertaken regarding the causes of crime and delinquency. The study found that decreased crime is due to trust, values, and cohesion in neighborhoods. Dr. Felton Earls states that the most important characteristic of collective efficacy is a "willingness by residents to intervene in the lives of children."... see more.

An Introduction to Collective Efficacy

Sampson, Raudenbush, and Earls discuss the importance of collective efficacy in reducing neighborhood violence, particularly in urban areas. They surveyed 343 neighborhoods in the Chicago area examining levels of informal social control and social cohesion along with violence levels in the neighborhoods. The results of the surveys showed that collective efficacy serves as a mediator between neighborhood economic and social problems and violence levels... for more information regarding this article.