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Poverty, Ethnicity, and Violent Crime

NCJ Number
169786
Author(s)
J F Short Jr
Date Published
1997
Length
256 pages
Annotation
This review and analysis of the literature on the role of poverty and ethnicity in violent crime contends fewer resources should be spent on prison construction and administration and more resources should be allocated to social policy research and to the building of "social capital" through community institutions.
Abstract
The book contains 10 chapters, the first of which presents historical background information on links between poverty, ethnicity, and violent crime and the ecological distribution of violent crime. The next three chapters are devoted to the measurement of violent crime, explanations of violent crime, and community and neighborhood contexts of violent crime. Subsequent chapters address the role of unsupervised youth groups in violence, the nature of violent behavior committed in groups, macrosocial factors in violent crime, and biobehavioral influences and control associated with violent crime at the individual level. The final two chapters explore the role of learning, personality, and social contexts in explaining violence and violence prevention strategies and policy options. 514 references, 41 notes, 7 tables, and 18 figures

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