Is Living in a Hot Spot for Crime or Drugs Related to Collective Efficacy, Legitimacy, Victimization, Deviance and Health Problems?

• In Event: Crime and Place: The Baltimore Longitudinal Hot Spots Study: Initial Findings

Abstract

Unlike traditional studies of crime which have focused either on individuals or communities, our study examines how focus on street segments adds to our understanding of crime, drug use and health problems. We report here on initial descriptive findings from the first wave of a three wave (5 year) study of 450 street segments in Baltimore City, Maryland. The sampling approach involves the selection of 125 "drug hotspots" as characterized by official data from the Baltimore City Police Department (BPD), 125 "predatory crime hot spots,” 50 Drug/Predatory Crime Hot Spots, and 150 comparison street segments. These street segments were drawn randomly from streets that met crime thresholds and residential housing eligibility requirements. The survey sample included a minimum of 7 households per street segment and a total of 3700 face to face surveys. In this presentation we describe the four groups of segments in terms of resident perceptions of collective efficacy, legitimacy evaluations of the police, victimization, self reported deviance and drug use, as well as such health measures as fatigue, chronic health problems, and mental health problems. We are particularly interested in the correlation between living in hot spots of crime and these outcomes.

Authors

• David Weisburd, George Mason University / Hebrew University

• Justin Ready, Arizona State University

• Brian Lawton, George Mason University

• Breanne Cave, George Mason University

• Matthew Nelson, George Mason University

• Amelia Haviland, Carnegie Mellon University