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Abstract
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OBJECTIVES: This study examined the structural covariates of gang homicide inlarge U.S. cities and whether the structural conditions associated with ganghomicide differed from non-gang homicide.
METHODS: Several national datasources were used to gather information on the structural conditions of the88 largest U.S. cities, including the U.S. Census Bureau, Law EnforcementManagement and Administrative Statistics, Uniform Crime Report, andNational Gang Center. Negative binomial regression was used to model therelationship between the structural conditions of cities and homicide rates.
RESULTS: Socioeconomic deprivation, official rates of gang membership, andpopulation density explained between-city variability in gang homicide rates.In addition, quadratic associations were observed for socioeconomic deprivationand population density. Equality of coefficients tests revealed that thestructural covariates of gang homicide differed in magnitude from non-ganghomicide.
CONCLUSIONS: Prior to this study, the etiology of gang homicide wasfound to differ from other homicide types in terms of event characteristicsand sub-city correlates. This macro-level study extended this line ofresearch to cities, providing evidence that the structural correlates ofviolence operated differently for gang homicide.
KEYWORDS: Juvenile justice; Juvenile delinquency |