Neighborhood Satisfaction, Disorder, and Trust in the Legal System: Micro-Level Determinants of Intervention

• In Event: The Determinants and Implications of Disorder

Abstract

An important theme in the neighborhoods and crime literature is the importance of resident intervention in neighborhood matters as a strategy to control crime. Given research’s emphasis on intervention as a macro level process, little is known about the individual determinants of why residents intervene. The goal of this project is to assess the determinants of individuals’ mobilization around neighborhood problems and whether they do so by relying on neighbors (informal ) or police (formal). I pay particular attention to the influence of resident perceptions of disorder and levels of neighborhood satisfaction on intervention. This study uses a community survey of 1,799 respondents residing in Oakland, CA to examine the effects of neighborhood satisfaction, levels of trust in the legal system, and levels of perceived disorder on the willingness of residents to take action against identified neighborhood problems. Results confirm that neighborhood satisfaction, levels of disorder, and trust in the legal system impact residents’ willingness to respond to neighborhood problems and also affect whether residents use informal or formal social control mechanisms to curb neighborhood problems.

Author

• Erin Coleman, University of New Mexico