Holding onto Homophily: Race and Gender Segregation in Violent Crime Groups Across the United States, 1995-2010

• In Event: Perspectives of Gang Violence

Abstract

A large portion of crime occurs in groups, and tends to be more injurious. Therefore, examining co-offending is an essential part of understanding crime, especially violent offenses. Studying co-offending also allows crime scholars a glimpse into institutionalized sexism and racism in the criminal underworld. It has been established that crime groups have high levels of sex segregation and an on-going tendency toward homophily, or homogeneity in age, gender, and race. This study examines how community-level contextual factors (such as region and population) may influence the tendency toward co-offending, and the amount of segregation based on sex and race. In this study, we perform a longitudinal exploration of these patterns in violent offending, utilizing the Supplementary Homicide Report (SHR) and the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) from 1995-2010. Preliminary findings show considerable variation in the propensity to co-offend and the tendency toward sex and racial segregation among co-offenders, based on region of the United States, when controlling for offender and offense characteristics. This pattern seems to hold over time, showing entrenched sex and racial segregation in violent crime groups. We explore these patterns and trends for several violent offenses, ranging in severity from simple assault to homicide.

Authors

• Katie Lynn Clemons, Washington State University

• Meredith Conover-Williams, Humboldt State University

• Jennifer Schwartz, Washington State University