1 LAND USE AND VIOLENT CRIMEAlthough research has shown specific land uses to be related to crime, systematic investigation of land uses and violent crime has been less common. This study systematically examines links between land uses and violent crime and whether such links are conditioned by socioeconomic disadvantage. We employ geocoded UCR data from the Indianapolis police department and information on 30 categories of land use, and demographic information from the 2000 census. We use land use variables to predict violent crime counts in 1000 X 1000 feet grid cells using negative binomial regression models. Results show that, net of other variables, specific land uses predict variation in counts for individual violent crimes and aggregate rates. Some nonresidential land uses are associated with higher violent crime counts, whereas others are associated with lower counts. Specific land uses also condition the effects of socioeconomic disadvantage on violent crime. Implications for routine activities/opportunity and social disorganization/collective efficacy theories of crime are discussed.

No abstract

The now well‐documented explosion in prison populations over the last 30 years has spurred significant attention in the literature. Early research focused primarily on economic explanations. More recently it has focused on political explanations of prison growth. Here we extend research on political explanations of imprisonment by drawing on the literature on state politics and public policy. We argue that the effect of partisan politics on punishment is conditional on how much electoral competition legislators face. We test this hypothesis using annual state level data on imprisonment from 1978 to 1996. Our findings show that the effect of Republican state legislative strength on prison admissions depends on time and the level of competition in state legislative elections. We argue that these findings suggest the need for a more nuanced understanding of the link between partisan U.S. politics and imprisonment.

In recent years, criminologists, as well as journalists, have devoted considerable attention to the potential deterrent effect of what is sometimes referred to as "proactive" policing. This style of policing entails the vigorous enforcement of laws against relatively minor offenses in order to prevent more serious crime. The current study examines the effect of proactive policing on robbery rates for a sample of large U.S. cities using an innovative measure developed by Sampson and Cohen (1988). We replicate their cross-sectional analyses using data from 2000-2003, a period during which proactive policing is likely to have become more common than the period of the original study-the early 1980s. We also extend their analyses by estimating a more comprehensive regression model that incorporates additional theoretically-relevant predictors. Finally, we advance previous research in this area by using panel data. The crosssectional analyses replicate prior findings of a negative relationship between proactive policing and robbery rates. In addition, our dynamic models suggest that proactive policing is endogenous to changes in robbery rates. When this feedback between robbery and proactive policing is eliminated, we find further evidence that proactive policing reduces robbery rates.