Estimations developed for New York City using this model support the theoretical proposition that property crimes result in part from relative economic deprivation. However, criminals also respond to changes in the criminal justice environment as reflected in the probability of punishment. A test of the effectiveness of redistribution versus deterrence as a means of reducing property crime found that the hypothesis of equivalent elasticities could not be accepted, based upon a time-ordered sample. Overall, a 1-percent change toward greater economic equality, both past and present, is associated with a 2-percent reduction in property crime; while the same percentage increase in the level of deterrence will result in an approximately 1.2-percent reduction in criminal activity. This suggests that redistribution is a more viable method of achieving property crime reductions. These findings indicate that crime cannot be analyzed outside the context of the social and economic structure. Implications for crime control policy are discussed. Data sources are appended. 13 references.