Effects of Arrests and Incarceration on Informal Social Control in Baltimore, Maryland, Neighborhoods, 1980-1994
Description
This study examined the effects of police arrest policies
and incarceration policies on communities in 30 neighborhoods in
Baltimore. Specifically, the study addressed the question of whether
aggressive arrest and incarceration policies negatively impacted
social organization and thereby reduced the willingness of area
residents to engage in informal social control, or collective efficacy.
CRIME CHANGES IN BALTIMORE, 1970-1994 (ICPSR 2352) provided aggregate
community-level data on demographics, socioeconomic attributes, and
crime rates as well as data from interviews with residents about
community attachment, cohesiveness, participation, satisfaction, and
experiences with crime and self-protection. Incident-level offense
and arrest data for 1987 and 1992 were obtained from the Baltimore
Police Department. The Maryland Department of Public Safety and
Corrections provided data on all of the admissions to and releases
from prisons in neighborhoods in Baltimore City and Baltimore County
for 1987, 1992, and 1994.