Citation

Spelman W. J. Crim. Justice 1993; 21(5): 481-495.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1993, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/0047-2352(93)90033-J

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In economically distressed neighborhoods, abandoned houses and apartments can become hangouts for thieves, drug dealers, and prostitutes. In one low-income Austin, Texas neighborhood, 41 percent of abandoned buildings could be entered without use of force; of these open buildings, 83 percent showed evidence of illegal use by prostitutes, drug dealers, property criminals, and others. Crime rates on blocks with open abandoned buildings were twice as high as rates on matched blocks without open buildings. Even if 90 percent of the crimes presented are merely displaced to the surrounding area, securing abandoned buildings appears to be a highly cost-effective crime control tactic for distressed neighborhoods.