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AFDC, A City's Racial and Ethnic Composition, and Burglary

NCJ Number
179436
Journal
Social Service Review Volume: 70 Issue: 3 Dated: 09/1996 Pages: 464-471
Author(s)
James DeFronzo
Date Published
September 1996
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This article evaluates the potential effects of AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) assistance and racial and ethnic population composition on variation in burglary rates among cities after controlling for other relevant factors.
Abstract
Analyses of 140 cities disclosed that cost-of-living-adjusted AFDC payment per recipient had a negative effect on burglary. The relationship held when racial and ethnic community composition and other factors were controlled. Results provide support for the “strain” theory of crime, which hypothesizes that economic deprivation and lack of access to legitimate means to achieve aspirations generate frustrations that lead to crime, including burglary. These results suggest caution in efforts to reform the welfare system in order to avoid changes that might increase crime. Social policy that does not address income-earning opportunities for the poor, in addition to the issue of welfare assistance, is an incomplete approach to crime control. Table, notes

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