Moderating Effects of Neighborhood Context on Recidivism: Implications for Research and Practice

• In Event: The Value of Integrating Data across Agencies and Jurisdictions to Improve Public Safety

Abstract

The resurgence of ecological theories of crime (Sampson, Raudenbush, & Earls, 1997; Morenoff, Sampson, & Raudenbush, 2001) and place-based intervention (Weisburd & Braga, 2006) gave rise to the notion that the effectiveness of community supervision should be understood in the context within which individual offenders interact with their surrounding environments. Using a large cohort of offenders under community supervision in Washington DC, we evaluate the extent to which offenders’ individual risk of recidivism is moderated by neighborhood characteristics. In particular, we move beyond traditional neighborhood characteristics such as concentrated poverty and ethnic heterogeneity. The presentation highlights the salience of several indicators of neighborhood-level risk and social service need in understanding how individual offenders comply with supervision conditions and refrain from criminal behavior.

Authors

• Emily Tiry, Urban Institute

• Bryce Elling Peterson, Urban Institute

• KiDeuk Kim, Urban Institute