Revisiting the Temporal and Spatial Characteristics of Gang Homicide in East Los Angeles

• In Event: Gang- and Group-based Offending and Victimization

Abstract

The current study reexamines how neighborhood structural characteristics influence gang and non-gang homicide in Los Angeles Police Department’s (LAPD) Hollenbeck Community Policing Area over a 42-year period. Longitudinal negative binomial models are used to examine the relationship between neighborhood structural covariates and gang and non-gang homicide. Additionally, we consider the relationship between gentrifying neighborhoods and gang and non-gang homicide over the same four decades. The results support the existing literature that gang homicide remains tenaciously affixed to economically disadvantaged neighborhoods, even despite attempts at revitalizing strategies like gentrification. Furthermore, the findings reinforce the continued need to disaggregate gang and non-gang homicides when assessing the impact of neighborhood changes on violent crime.

Authors

• Matthew Valasik, The University of Alabama

• Michael S. Barton, The University of Alabama

• Shannon E. Reid, University of North Carolina at Charlotte