Development and Crime Drop: A Time-Series Analysis of Crime Rates in Hong Kong in the Last Three Decades

2020 ◽  
pp. 0306624X2096994
Author(s):  
Xi Chen ◽  
Hua Zhong
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Property Crime ◽  
Routine Activities ◽  
Crime Rates ◽  
Routine Activities Theory ◽  
Crime Trends ◽  
Institutional Anomie Theory ◽  
Negatively Associated ◽  
Crime Drop ◽  
Anomie Theory

Although the recent crime drop in Western societies has rejuvenated crime trend studies, little is known about the crime trends and the corresponding explanations in the East. This study aims to fill the gaps by examining different types of offenses in Hong Kong between 1976 and 2017. Specifically, this study tests and evaluates major macro-level theoretical approaches explaining crime trends, including institutional anomie theory, routine activities theory, and deterrence theory. Using Error Correction Models, our analyses reveal that the strengths of different social institutions are negatively associated with crime rates, showing strong support to institutional anomie theory. The results also partially support routine activities theory by demonstrating that levels of economic development are negatively associated with both violent and property crime rates, and the number of mobile cellular subscriptions is negatively related to homicide rates. Deterrence explanations are mainly supported for property crime. These findings provide theoretical insights on the etiology of crime and also yield important policy suggestions on how to sustain the observed decline in crime rates in modern societies.

scholarly journals Examination of Routine Activities Theory by the property crime

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 1188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uğur Argun ◽  
Murat Dağlar
Keyword(s):  
Activity Theory ◽  
Crime Prevention ◽  
Property Crime ◽  
Routine Activities ◽  
Routine Activity Theory ◽  
Routine Activities Theory ◽  
Routine Activity ◽  
Property Crimes ◽  
The Many ◽  
Causes Of Crime

The studies on crime prevention, causes of crime and the theories associated with it are very essential topics in criminology. Routine Activities Theory (RAT) is also the basis for the many criminological theories. Although it has some shortcomings it is very usual that the theorists and practitioners on crime prevention can benefit from such a strong theory. This study explains the applicability of Routine Activities Theory in prevention and reducing of property crimes in the context of some parameters related to burglary and auto theft incidents in US. The study aims to give some information of the routine activity theory and investigate its relationship with prevention of property crimes. The results of study suggest that Routine Activity Theory may be used as a useful tool by crime reduction or prevention practitioners to evaluate crime problems and also take routine precautions and measures that reduce crime opportunities in people’s daily activities.

scholarly journals The Impact of Legalized Abortion on Crime over the Last Two Decades

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
John J Donohue ◽  
Steven Levitt
Keyword(s):  
Steady State ◽  
Violent Crime ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Property Crime ◽  
Crime Rates ◽  
Crime Drop ◽  
Crime Decline ◽  
Out Of Sample ◽  
Out Of Sample Prediction ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Donohue and Levitt (2001) presented evidence that the legalization of abortion in the early 1970s played an important role in the crime drop of the 1990s. That paper concluded with a strong out-of-sample prediction regarding the next two decades: “When a steady state is reached roughly twenty years from now, the impact of abortion will be roughly twice as great as the impact felt so far. Our results suggest that all else equal, legalized abortion will account for persistent declines of 1% a year in crime over the next two decades.” Estimating parallel specifications to the original paper, but using the seventeen years of data generated after that paper was written, we find strong support for the prediction and the broad hypothesis, while illuminating some previously unrecognized patterns of crime and arrests. We estimate that overall crime fell 17.5% from 1998 to 2014 due to legalized abortion—a decline of 1% per year. From 1991 to 2014, the violent and property crime rates each fell by 50%. Legalized abortion is estimated to have reduced violent crime by 47% and property crime by 33% over this period, and thus can explain most of the observed crime decline.

A fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis of corruption and homicide in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries through the lens of the institutional anomie theory

2021 ◽  
pp. 147737082110378
Author(s):  
José N Cruz
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Fuzzy Set ◽  
Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Multilevel Modelling ◽  
Crime Rates ◽  
Institutional Anomie Theory ◽  
Anomie Theory ◽  
The Social ◽  
Monetary Success

Institutional Anomie Theory has been widely used in the study of criminal phenomena. Institutional Anomie Theory offers a macro explanation of crime because it locates the cause of crime in the anomie created by the combination of a cultural overemphasis on monetary success and restricted economic opportunity. In such a context, the economy dominates the social macrostructure and non-economic social institutions (family, education, polity) may counterbalance (Merton's approach) or reinforce (Messner and Rosenfeld's approach) economic pressures. Institutional Anomie Theory has been tested with multivariate regression and with multilevel modelling. Neither of these statistical approaches addresses the question of which combinations of institutions lead to criminal behaviour. This study attempts to fill this gap by using the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis which allows multiple causality and asymmetric analysis of high and low crime rates. Based on the Institutional Anomie Theory theoretical model, this study demonstrates the existence of conditions for corruption and homicide in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries. The results are generally consistent with Merton's approach. It is shown that economic pressures combined with weak social institutions condition the extent of corruption and homicide in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries. However, there are differences between the two types of crime. The results also suggest that there is no symmetry in the causal combinations between high and low crime rates. The implications of these findings are discussed.

scholarly journals Juvenile crime drop: What is happening with youth in Spain and why?

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 306-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esther Fernández-Molina ◽  
Raquel Bartolomé Gutiérrez
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Crime Rates ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Juvenile Crime ◽  
Western World ◽  
Crime Trends ◽  
Crime Drop ◽  
Report Data ◽  
Self Report Data

One of the most robust findings in criminology is the fall in crime rates throughout the Western world. However, there is still much to be learnt about this and its causes. This case study analyses the Spanish juvenile crime trends and tests the explanatory capacity of the sociodemographic hypotheses. We use aggregate data provided by the police and self-report data. Our analysis could be of interest in a worldwide debate on the crime drop. Demographic changes and the economic situation have little relevance in explaining the changes. However, public policies seem to have had a greater impact on crime trends. Furthermore, gender equality can be considered a possible explanatory factor.

scholarly journals Institutional Anomie Theory and Cybercrime—Cybercrime and the American Dream, Now Available Online

2021 ◽  
pp. 104398622110015
Author(s):  
Thomas E. Dearden ◽  
Katalin Parti ◽  
James Hawdon
Keyword(s):  
American Dream ◽  
Negative Binomial ◽  
National Sample ◽  
Dark Side ◽  
Curvilinear Relationship ◽  
Online Behavior ◽  
Institutional Anomie Theory ◽  
Anomie Theory ◽  
American Capitalism ◽  
Criminological Theories

As the world becomes increasingly connected and interdependent upon technology, crimes are moving online. Research on cybercrime is beginning to test the applicability of traditional criminological theories for understanding crime in this new medium. Using a national sample of 215 self-admitted cybercriminals, we examine Messner and Rosenfeld’s institutional anomie theory. Negative binomial regressions reveal that expressed levels of institutional anomie correlate with increased cybercrime activity. A curvilinear relationship was found, such that low and high levels of institutional anomie lead to higher levels of cybercrime. Our findings reveal how the dark side of the American Dream can lead to online criminality. Specifically, the penetration of, and accommodation to economic values dictated by American capitalism can lead individuals to adopt values such as the fetishism of money that, in turn, affects their online behavior and criminality.

Workplace Cyberbullying: A Criminological and Routine Activity Perspective

2021 ◽  
pp. 026839622110278
Author(s):  
Sixuan Zhang ◽  
Dorothy Leidner ◽  
Xin Cao ◽  
Ning Liu
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Spanning ◽  
Routine Activities ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Routine Activities Theory ◽  
Routine Activity ◽  
General Theory Of Crime ◽  
Theory Of Crime ◽  
Low Self Control ◽  
The U.S

Extant research on the antecedents of workplace cyberbullying pays little attention to the role of perpetrator traits in influencing workplace cyberbullying, as well as the unique occurrence context that distinguishes workplace cyberbullying with juvenile cyberbullying, workplace bullying, and adult cyberbullying in general. To fill these gaps, we consider the antecedents of workplace cyberbullying under the theoretical lens of the general theory of crime and routine activities theory. We build a model incorporating low self-control, a widely discussed perpetrator trait in criminology theories, with three types of routine activities representing the unique occurrence context for workplace cyberbullying--mWork, boundary spanning in ESM, and proactive email checking. We tested our model with 2025 employees in the U.S.. Our findings demonstrate that low self-control and the three routine activities are strong motivators for workplace cyberbullying. Our findings further show that the effect of low self-control on workplace cyberbullying is amplified by the three routine activities. The study contributes to our understanding of why workplace cyberbullying occurs and offers potential implications for managers interested in reducing incidences of workplace cyberbullying in their organization.

Perceived marketization in Poland: Translating key concepts of institutional anomie theory to the micro level

2021 ◽  
pp. 147737082199685
Author(s):  
Jacek Bieliński ◽  
Andreas Hövermann
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Structural Equation Models ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Institutional Anomie Theory ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Anomie Theory ◽  
Representative Random Sample ◽  
Order Factor ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
The Individual

Institutional anomie theory (IAT) describes the potentially criminogenic impact of economically dominated social institutions. Although originally cast at the macro level of society, more efforts have emerged lately to capture the IAT framework on the individual level, resulting in a need for appropriate measures representing the presumed marketization processes. Our study addresses this need by offering a theoretically derived, comprehensive measure of the individual-level instantiation of an anomic culture depicted in IAT, that is, ‘marketized mentality’. Structural equation models testing for the single higher-order factor marketized mentality are calculated with a representative random sample of Poland’s population. Finally, the implications and limitations resulting from the analyses are discussed.

Is a Decentralized Police Organization a Better Option in a Modern Democratic Society? A Case Study From South Korea

2021 ◽  
pp. 109861112110420
Author(s):  
Sungil Han ◽  
Jennifer LaPrade ◽  
EuiGab Hwang
Keyword(s):  
South Korea ◽  
Violent Crime ◽  
Fear Of Crime ◽  
Police Department ◽  
Property Crime ◽  
Interrupted Time Series ◽  
Crime Rates ◽  
Interrupted Time Series Analysis ◽  
Clearance Rates ◽  
Crime Clearance

While western countries have had a decentralized policing model for many years, some countries, such as South Korea, still employ a centralized, national police department. Responding to calls for reform, South Korea launched a pilot program and implemented a more decentralized policing structure in Jeju Island in 2006. This study adds to the policing literature by offering the empirical comparison of a region before and after decentralization of a police department. This study will examine the intervention effects of police decentralization in Jeju, specifically related to crime rates, crime clearance rates, victimization, trust in police, and fear of crime. Using propensity score matching and interrupted time series analysis, this study found that the decentralized policing intervention significantly reduced total crime, violent crime rates, and property crime rates that lasted throughout the intervention period, while improving crime clearance rates for violent crime, as well as reduced fear of crime among residents.

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