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This thesis tests the significance of place and gender (sex) to violent crime victimization rates using deviant place theory.
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The Significance of Place and Gender: An Ohio Violent Crime Victimization Study
by Kristin M. Helle
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in the Criminal Justice Program
May, 2014
The Significance of Place and Gender: An Ohio Violent Crime Victimization Study. Kristin M. Helle
I hereby release this thesis to the public. I understand that this thesis will be made available from the OhioLINK ETD Center and the Maag Library Circulation Desk for public access. I also authorize the University or other individuals to make copies of thisthesis as needed for scholarly research.
Signature: ____________________________________________________________ Kristin M. Helle , Student Date
Approvals: ____________________________________________________________ Richard Rogers, Ph.D. , Thesis Advisor Date
Christopher Bellas , Ph.D ., Committee Member Date
Susan Clutter, M.F.S. , Committee Member Date
Salvatore A. Sanders, Ph.D. , Associate Dean of Graduate Studies Date
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Acknowledgements I would like to take this opportunity to thank my thesis committee members who have been great help throughout this study. My advisor, Dr. Richard Rogers, provided much needed statistical expertise and devoted precious time (of which he did not have) to merging data and creating all final data files that were analyzed within this study. Dr. Christopher Bellas and Professor Susan Clutter not only provided useful help but they have been understanding and great supporters through this entire process. I had the pleasure of having all three of my committee members as professors for at least one class. Each are great professors and my respect for them is why I asked them to be on my thesis committee. I have developed great relationships through the years with my committee members and appreciate all they have done for me. I would like to thank my graduate coordinator, Dr. John Hazy, for recommending I enter the graduate program and for always offering valuable assistance. As a graduate assistant I have had the pleasure of assisting Dr. Christian Onwudiwe and Diane D. Hritz, Internship Supervisor. Dr. O and Diane have been great mentors and I appreciate the time I have had getting to know them better. My fellow graduate assistants have also been a pleasure to work with. I would also like to thank Jeff Ervin (Supervisor) and everyone at the Adult Parole Authority office in Youngstown for an excellent internship experience. Lastly, I want to thank my family for their love and support. I am grateful to have such wonderful parents, a caring grandmother, and a supportive brother. My family has encouraged me to do my best and they have always been there to help me achieve my goals. My aunt, uncle and cousins are also great role models and exceptional people.
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Table of Contents Abstract…………………………...………………………………………………………iii Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………….iv Table of Contents………………………………………………………………………….v List of Tables…………………………………………………………………………….vii Chapter I Introduction …………………………………………………………………….. 1 Problem Statement………………………………………………………………... 1 Purpose and Need for the Study…………..………………………………………. Summary………………………………………………………………………….. Chapter II Literature Review……………………………………………………………... Deviant Places …………………………………………………………………….. The Social Ecology of Crime…………………………………….……………… Urban…………………………………………………………………….. 14 Suburban and Rural……………………………………………………… Sex Specific Crime Rates………………………………………………………... Ohio Victimization Facts………………………………………………………... Research Hypothesis…………………………………………………………….. Definitions……………………………………………………………….. Hypotheses………………………………………………………………. Summary………………………………………………………………………… Chapter III Methods……………………………………………………………………...2 7 Research Method and Design……………………………………………………2 7 Research Variables……………………………………………………………….
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List of Tables Table 1. Descriptive Statistics…………………………………………………………… Table 2. Regressions of Ohio Victimization Rates with Place and Controls Run Combined………………………………………………………………... Table 3. Regressions of Ohio Victimization Rates with Place and Controls Run Separately………………………………………………………………... Table 4. R^2 Regression Outputs for Violent Crime Victimization Rates……………….. Table 5. Regressions of Ohio Victimization Rates by Gender Gap with Place and Controls Combined………………….………………………………...… Table 6. Regressions of Ohio Victimization Rates by Gender Gap with Place and Controls Run Separately……………….................................................... Table 7. R 2 Regression Outputs for Violent Crime Victimization by Gender Gap……...
Chapter I Introduction Perceptions of crime and victimization tend to shift when one thinks of urban, suburban, and rural areas. The Bureau of Justice Statistics repeatedly shows that urban areas have the highest victimization rates and males are most likely to be victimized (Truman, Langton, & Planty, 2013). Conversely, some studies (Barnett & Mencken, 2002; Rogers, 2012; Schmitt, 2013) show strong relationships between crime in suburban and rural places even in the area of victimization. For example, a 2000 study found rural female teenagers displayed higher rates of dating violence and victimization (Spencer & Bryant, 2000). The purpose of this research is to create a place and gender (sex)-focused analysis of metropolitan principal cities, micropolitan principal cities, metropolitan suburban, micropolitan suburban and non-metropolitan areas. Violent crime victimization rates in Ohio will be analyzed while utilizing Stark’s (1987) deviant places theory. Previous studies have not focused on both sex and the Census Bureau’s defined metropolitan geographical places that are utilized in this study. If significant relationships can be found between violent crime victimization rates, geographical locations, and sex, then this would be an important area for further research. The problems this thesis addresses and purpose of the thesis are discussed in the following pages. Problem Statement This thesis addresses several important issues. Criminology theories are too focused on individual characteristics of residents within places and they ignore the places themselves. Stark emphasized the importance of place by looking into urban neighborhoods and utilized many individual and urban traits. An overemphasis on inner
for several reasons. Perhaps the best explanation for continued crime rate research is given by the Uniform Crime Reporting Program (2011): UCR crime statistics are used in many ways and serve many purposes. They provide law enforcement with data for use in budget formulation, planning, resource allocation, assessment of police operations, etc., to help address the crime problem at various levels. Chambers of commerce and tourism agencies examine these data to see how they impact the particular geographic jurisdictions they represent. Criminal justice researchers study the nature, cause, and movement of crime over time. Legislators draft anti-crime measures using the research findings and recommendations of law enforcement administrators, planners, and public and private entities concerned with the problem of crime. The news media use the crime statistics provided by the UCR Program to inform the public about the state of crime. (p. 1) This study is different from previous crime rate studies because sex and geographic places are the joint focus, while victims and crimes are units of analysis. This study differs from Stark’s (1987) neighborhood based deviant place study by focusing on the contrast between places based on metropolitan classifications. This study uses one of the most current victimization data sets available in the 2010 National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) data file. Although certain parts of this study have already been examined, speculations about recent trends in crimes growing in suburban and rural areas and supposed sex gaps decreasing justifies revisiting these topic areas. This study is unique for focusing on only Ohio crime rate and victimization data. Deviant places theory was included in this study because it notes the importance of place and place variables in
relation to crime. Sex is added in this study to the concept of place and crime to create a new aspect of deviant places theory and previous place-focused studies. Sex victimization rates, being tested for their relationship to metropolitan classified places, is unique in itself. A study focusing on population change in suburban communities and the outcome those changes have on crime rates found that many of the factors that contribute to urban crime also contribute to suburban and non-metropolitan crime (Barnett & Mencken, 2002). Non-metropolitan regions have crime rates that are half the totals found in metropolitan regions. Many studies looking into rural crime find that stability in population is one of the reasons crime stays low in those developments compared to urban communities. Population change and stability have been found to be not as significant in non-metropolitan regions; instead, resource disadvantage plays the greatest role in determining if crime will be high in a given place (Barnett & Mencken, 2002). Resource disadvantages are in line with lack of social control, which Stark (1987) has cited as a crime and deviance risk factor in his deviant places theory. The focus on resource disadvantage is a good start, but that study does not attempt to compare the sex gap between places. Known differences in characteristics of rural developments compared to urban is reason enough for crime studies to explore distinctions and similarities between the places instead of crime studies always focusing on one specific place (Wells & Weisheit, 2004). There is also a need for other factors to be brought in and compared along with, not separate to, geographical locations such as sex is utilized. Some research in this field of study only focuses on urban crime and why misfortunate circumstances in those communities leads to crime (King, 2013). Some
victimization. Victimization studies focusing on sex have found that female victims can be overrepresented in family violence (Sipes, 2012). Potential for overrepresentation of female victims to certain crimes may exist within this study, especially in the victimization rates for rape considering at the time of the data collection NIBRS only counted females as rape victims. However, the NIBRS data used in this study is based on crimes known to the police; therefore, any overrepresentation in one area could also be the result of crimes not being reported in another. This study aims to see if female victims are more likely than males to be connected to crimes based on the place where the offense occurs and the violent offences themselves. This will be studied by analyzing the gender (sex) gap between violent offense victimization rates. It is expected there will be differences in violent crime victimization between the sexes in regards to place. A gender-based study (Steffensmeier, Zhong & Ackerman, 2005) looked into women and their growing representation in violent crimes. Female offenders and victims were studied based on data from the Uniform Crime Reports, National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), Monitoring the Future, and the National Youth Risk Behavior Survey. The researchers believed women commit violent crimes in intimate private settings while males are more likely to commit violent crimes in public places and against strangers. These offender statistics could mirror that of victimization statistics based on sex. The gender gap in violent crimes was calculated by taking the female rate and dividing it by the male plus female rate, then multiplying by 100 (Steffensmeier et al., 2005). The UCR data showed a significant increase in juvenile females arrested for violent crimes but the NCVS data showed no significance in female victimization; however, overall the findings did not indicate a general increase in male to female
victimization gaps (Steffensmeier et al., 2005). Many statistical findings have reinforced the claim that offenders have the highest risk of becoming victims compared to non- offenders (Barnes & Beaver, 2012, p. 3300). If the sex gap is closing and females are engaging in more crimes then they once did, then females’+ chances of being victims is growing as well. It will be interesting to see if there is also a sex gap based on location of offenses and if or how that sex gap changes as one travels out of the inner cities and into non-metropolitan areas. Summary This thesis is a violent crime victimization study. The emphasis of the study is on both place and sex. Studies in the field of crime rates are necessary and utilized by the government, law enforcement, and news media outlets, providing a wealth of information (Uniform Crime Reporting Program, 2011). Crime studies that do look into rural or non- metropolitan areas tend be overpowered by urban biases and need a new approach which can look into crimes in these areas in a way that does not rely on only urban variables and locations (Donnermeyer & DeKeseredy, 2008). This study is different from previous studies because place, sex, and victimization are all considered central focal points with victims’ sex and violent crimes being differentiated between five places. This is also a unique study because the unit of analysis is Ohio victimization data. Relationships between victimization rates, place, and sex can be found by running an OLS regression and including individual level variables (control variables) along with place variables (independent variables) and determining if place and sex are significant once the individual variables are removed. Chapter Two will further explain findings on place and crime with an emphasis in Stark’s deviant places theory. Statistics along with research
Chapter II Literature Review Deviant Places Rodney Stark (1987) researched crime and deviance with an emphasis on “kinds of places” instead of “kinds of people” (p. 893). Stark expands on Social Disorganization Theory (Shaw & McKay, 1942; see also, Kubrin & Weitzer, 2003) by detailing (through 30 propositions) how place traits influence people within those places and in return how that leads to deviance and crime. For the purpose of his research Stark detailed traits of specific neighborhoods and individual people that when integrating together will increase deviance and risk of crime. Stark believed that certain places (in his study place was referenced to neighborhoods) and the criminal traits of those places would lead to an increased chance of someone falling victim (proposition 23) to a crime as opposed to the actual traits of the area’s inhabitants. Proof of place being more important than people is explained by examining a Seattle neighborhood that once had high crime rates. According to Stark, originally only Italians lived there; after the Italians moved out and Blacks moved in, the crime rate remained high in that same area (p. 893). The Italians in this example were originally thought to be the problem, but seeing a new wave of individuals move in and crime remain high proved otherwise. People can come and go but if crime remains high perhaps the place (and its ecological traits) is the reason behind that and not the people (as they are usually accused). Stark’s theory of deviance focuses on urban places and urban traits. Five urban factors influence deviance and crime according to Stark: density, poverty, mixed use, transience, and dilapidation (p. 895). These five place traits then create four individual
traits: moral cynicism, increased opportunities for crime and deviance, increased motivation, and diminished control (p. 895). The end result of Stark’s five place traits mixed with his four individual traits leads to a place attracting deviant and crime prone people, driving out the least deviant people, and reductions in social control (p. 895). Stark further explains his place and people traits through thirty propositions. Several of his thirty propositions emphasize density being one of the biggest risk factors of deviance and crime. In densely populated places, many people will come in contact with one another and crimes are more likely to occur. Suburban and rural areas are only mentioned in passing. In suburban and rural areas, individuals are less likely to interact with one another; as a result, crimes are less likely to take place and people there are less likely to be victimized. Stark explains how opportunities for deviance are not found in suburban and rural areas as easily as in central cities and urban places. In other words, the types of people could be the same in a given place, but the risk factors associated with the location is why chances for being victimized or engaging in criminal deviance may change. Of importance from the Stark deviant places study is the five place traits. Density is not only tied to neighborhood characteristics, Stark also noted overcrowding within people’s homes as part of the density problem. Poverty can be a misleading place trait considering the makeup of poor individuals. However, high poverty places attract poor people because that is the only area they can afford to live. Stark explains mixed use as areas where stores and outlets are abundant. People have more opportunity to not only run into one another, but these areas lead to congregating outdoors. Transience means populations are constantly changing: unfamiliar individuals are interacting with one another, thus there is a lack of personal ties. Finally, dilapidated and rundown
level measures were significant to victimization (Dobrin, Lee, & Price, 2005). Criminals become attracted to areas where social control is broken down. A non-metropolitan study found that similar social crime links exist in metropolitan and non-metropolitan places, especially ethnic heterogeneity and female headed households (Osgood & Chambers, 2000). That same study also noted the lack of police interference for minor offenses in areas where serious crime is abundant as was noted by Stark. Relating sex to Stark’s theory of place was only slightly touched upon and showed parallel violence trends between males and females in urban and rural areas (Schwartz & Gertseva, 2010). Schwartz and Gertseva (2010) focused on violent crime arrest rates over a span of 25 years in urban and rural areas. They found that males continued to have higher arrest rates; however, females were narrowing the gap in assault arrests in both urban and rural places. Other theorists and researchers have also noted the importance of place to crime. Without community controls the people within communities no longer take care of their surroundings; instead, they keep to themselves and allow disorder to take over their neighborhoods. Unkempt and neglected places become a breeding ground for crime. Social disorganization and community deterioration, which is often found in inner cities, leads to an increase in crime that is tied to the place more so than the people within the place (Shaw & McKay, 1942). If the disorganization of communities spreads far enough into other places, then crime will spread along with it. When communities are broken people in those places no longer prosper or try to improve their lives; instead, they accept and adapt to crime as is suggested by subculture theory (Cohen, 1955). Crime and its ties to ecology have been significant in the previously mentioned studies. These theories
show place is an area of criminal analysis that continually needs to be explored considering places are continually changing. In the conclusion of Stark’s study on deviant places he mentions the variable of sex. “What is suggested is that, although males will exceed females in terms of rates of crime and delinquency in all neighborhoods, males in certain neighborhoods will have much higher rates than will males in some other neighborhoods, and female behavior will fluctuate by neighborhood too”(Stark, 1987, p. 906). However, he did not go into detail in his research of sex and its relationship to places. This thesis will contribute to deviant places literature by exploring the idea that place and sex are important to analyze, especially for victimization rates. A study that did relate the variable of sex to Stark’s theory of place showed parallel violence trends between males and females in urban areas (Schwartz & Gertseva, 2010). This study is unique because it includes a wider range of places and it compares the importance of place and sex for victimization rates. The following literature reviews analyze place and gender in the context of criminology. The Social Ecology of Crime This study will look into five kinds of places as defined by the 2010 census’s Geographic Identifier File found in American FactFinder: metropolitan principal cities (largest cities in a metropolitan urbanized area consisting of 50,000 or more people), micropolitan principal cities (largest cities in a micropolitan urban cluster of 10, people to 50,000), metropolitan suburban (immediate areas surrounding metropolitan principal cities), micropolitan suburban (immediate areas surrounding micropolitan principal cities), and non-metropolitan (rural areas outside of metropolitan and micropolitan communities). It is expected that crime victimization rates analyzed in this
