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Institutional Strength, Social Control and Neighborhood Crime Rates

NCJ Number
202675
Journal
Theoretical Criminology Volume: 7 Issue: 4 Dated: November 2003 Pages: 439-467
Author(s)
Ruth A. Triplett; Randy R. Gainey; Ivan Y. Sun
Editor(s)
Lynn Chancer, Eugene McLaughlin
Date Published
November 2003
Length
29 pages
Annotation
This article presents a model of institutional social control to address neighborhood-based institutions’ ability to contribute to effective social control and their role in understanding neighborhood crime rates.
Abstract
Social disorganization theory is based on the work of Chicago School theorists who found that crime was not evenly distributed across the city. The theory identified social disorganization as a central factor explaining crime in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Today, models of social disorganization have been changed and improved. In the specific area of social networks, contradictory findings have led social disorganization theorists to look for other factors that may help mediate the relationship between neighborhood structural characteristics and levels of social control and crime. This article presents a model of institutional social control. Social networks are placed in an analytic framework. The article begins with a discussion of a model of institutional control and neighborhood crime, followed by a review of the existing empirical support for various paths in the model. The role of social networks is then discussed. The article concludes with the limitations of and the challenges posed by the present model. References