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Recent research has begun to examine the effects of politics on crime. However, few studies have considered how local political variation is likely to affect crime. Using insights from urban politics research, this paper develops and tests hypotheses regarding direct and conditional effects of local politics on violent crime in 958 cities in 1991. Results from negative binomial regression analyses show that violent crime rates vary by local political structures and the race of the mayor. In addition, the effects of structural factors such as poverty, unemployment, and female‐headed households on violent crime depend on local form of government and the number of unreformed local governmental structures. Implications for systemic social disorganization and institutional anomie theories are discussed.

The dynamic relationships among violent crime, deterrence, & the business cycle are explored with monthly aggregate time-series data from New York City. Crime rates are based on all reported crimes per 1,000 population ages 16+. Lagged values of the arrest rate for robbery account for changes in the reported robbery rate but the reported rates of murder, rape, & assault are unaffected by their respective arrest rates. It is also found that cyclical variation in the unemployment rate & changes in one measure of social inequality have no impact on violent crime in New York City. 2 Tables, 4 Figures, 21 References. Adapted from the source document.

Robert Merton's theory of 'social structure and anomie' is used for the hypothesis that racial residential segregation will exhibit positive associations with rates of criminal violence in the suburbs. Regression analyses based on samples of suburban regions in 1970 and 1980 generally support this hypothesis. (Abstract amended)

Data on criminal homicides (from the Uniform Crime Reports) and aggravated assaults and simple assaults (from the National Crime Surveys) are analyzed to determine the extent to which violent crimes occur within or between sexes. The routine activities approach is used to develop hypotheses, and those hypotheses are tested using models that estimate the proportion of ingroup and outgroup crimes "expected." With the exception of homicides, in which women murder men more often than expected, each of these violent crimes occurs within sexes more often than expected. There is a strong relationship between the type of violence (simple assault, aggravated assault, and homicide) and the extent to which the target of female aggression is a male.

Phencyclidine (PCP) has obtained a notorious reputation for provoking violent behavior. Because of this reputation and a number of methodological weaknesses in PCP-violence studies, the recent research literature on the relationship between PCP use and violent crime was reviewed. Studies were organized according to types of subjects studied (PCP users in treatment; PCP users in the criminal justice system; and PCP users at large in the community). Within each category, studies were evaluated in terms of the logical rigor of their research design and measurement. Of the three categories, investigations involving PCP users in the criminal justice system tended to have fewest problems. However, methodological weaknesses in some studies and contradictory findings in others did not allow one to adequately answer the question of whether PCP use increased violent crime. Unanswered questions and suggested directions for future research in the PCP-violence field are presented.

An examinaton of the effects of racial residential segregation on rates of suburban violent crimes. Robert K. Merton's theory of social structure & anomie is used as a starting point for the hypothesis that racial residential segregation will exhibit positive associations with rates of criminal violence in the suburbs. Regression analyses of 1970 & 1980 US census data on the surburban rings of 54 metropolitan areas generally support this hypothesis. The results underscore the utility of considering racial residential segregation as an independent variable with important consequences for metropolitan communities. 4 Tables, 64 References. Modified HA

Using a sample of 300 homeless street youths, this study examines differential coercion theory and the role that coercion and the socialpsychological deficits of anger, low self‐control, coercive modeling, coercive ideation, and control imbalances play in the generation of violent crime. Results from cross‐sectional and prospective offending models that examine the individual mediators reveal that coercion has a direct relationship with violent offending as well as a relationship that is mediated by low self‐control, anger, coercive modeling, and coercive ideation. Although control imbalances have a direct relationship with crime, they do not mediate the relationship between coercion and crime. In the cross‐sectional model that contains all the mediators, coercion, low self‐control, anger, coercive modeling, and coercive ideation are associated with crime. In the prospective model that contains all the mediators, only anger, coercive modeling, and coercive ideation remain associated with crime. Results are discussed regarding future theory development and policy implications.

AbstractThe study examines the subjective interpretations of violence by nine and twelve year old children living in strife‐torn and peaceful areas in Northern Ireland. The study focuses on the range of acts and events included in essays entitled "Violence", as part of an attempt to measure social awareness of potentially distressing topics. A specific examination is made of the effects of religious denomination and relative exposure to conflict on the frequency of citations of acts of violence and violent crime. Evidence is brought forward to show that conceptions of violence in Northern Ireland children embrace more than just the violence in Northern Ireland, and include misdemeanours, destruction, and crime generally. The actual levels and types of violence which vary by geographical area is reflected in the writings of different religious groups in these areas. The majority of children explicitly or implicitly condemn violence.

Is a federal prosecutor's decision whether to pursue violent crime charges political? While prosecutors frequently assert their decision-making independence, their selection and operational constraints suggest a very different story. We assess whether political factors related to the prosecution priorities of the president, Congress, and the local public affect federal prosecutors' decisions to pursue or decline charges in violent crime matters. To empirically examine this, we utilize data from 89 U.S. Attorneys offices from 1996 to 2011. The results provide rich new insight into when and why federal prosecutors' decisions to pursue or decline prosecutions are driven by the preferences of the president, Congress, and the local public. The findings also have important broader implications for the role of political factors in a U.S. criminal justice system believed by many to be in crisis.