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Community Cohesion and Violent Predatory Victimization: A Theoretical Extension and Cross-national Test of Opportunity Theory

NCJ Number
186642
Journal
Social Forces Volume: 79 Issue: 2 Dated: December 2000 Pages: 683-688
Author(s)
Matthew R. Lee
Date Published
December 2000
Length
6 pages
Annotation
A test of a theoretical model regarding community cohesion and victimization by predatory violence used data from a sample of more than 19,000 individuals who responded to national victimization surveys in 15 countries and from more than 10,000 people who responded to city-level surveys in another 12 countries.
Abstract
The study extended research on the opportunity theory of criminal victimization. The research proposed that living in a cohesive community directly reduces the likelihood of experiencing violent predatory criminal victimization. The research noted that tightly knit communities have higher levels of informal guardianship. In addition, members of such communities are more active in intervening in public deviant or criminal activities, thus limiting opportunities for the commission of violent crimes. Results provided strong support for the hypothesis that people who live in communities that they perceive to be cohesive have a lower likelihood of violent victimization. The data indicated that net of relevant socioeconomic, demographic, lifestyle, and neighborhood status characteristics, community cohesion consistently reduces the likelihood of robbery and assault near the home, as well as robbery and assault by strangers. The consistency of the results suggested that community cohesion may be a major determinant of victimization risk. Tables and 27 references (Author abstract modified)