The relationship between abandoned buildings and violent crime rates

Crime Rates and Abandoned Buildings

Is there a relationship between crime rates and abandoned buildings?

Theoretical background

A vast portion of research on crime and its relation with location is centered at either validating or refuting 'broken window theory'. The theory states that disorders such as graffiti, litter, and broken windows may encourage or cause increase in other disorders and petty crime. The theory by virtue of its title, research objectives, and conclusions does not merit our research question regarding relationship of abandoned building and crime rate. Most policing and preventive efforts for curtailing crime in the U.S. And elsewhere have also been based on broken window theory. Disorder does not imply that any serious crime will take place at a place and serious crimes are neither taking place at littered or disordered places. Policing activities are focused on securing the abandoned buildings and how far is that helped by such actions is questionable. Immergluck and Smith (2006) conducted a study in which they tested the hypothesis that increment in violent crime increase was correlated to increase in foreclosures of single family mortgages. Violent crime was reported to have increased by 2.33% if a full one percent increase in foreclosures took place. The study helps address the vital question of linkage between crime rate and increase n abandoned building.

Bragaand Bond (2008) mentioned that abandoned buildings attracted offenders to carry out their activities as these buildings are not monitored. However, the study concludes that easy criminal opportunities are denied to criminal minded people by securing the abandoned buildings. There are no such studies that directly relate the question of increase in criminal offences of serious nature such as murder, drug or human trafficking, and rape cases being reported to have taken place at the abandoned buildings. One such incident that took place in the south side of Chicago in which six murders took place in abandoned building did bring the administration's efforts to be concentrated on the issue of securing and minimizing abandoned buildings. The often reported incidents related to abandon buildings are that the buildings attract offenders and gangs. Another distinction that theory of 'window breaking' does not address is that disorder and crime are not explicitly defined and their incidental possibilities not discussed. Nonetheless, the discussion on theory did expedite the process of research and investigation into abandoned buildings and their relationship to criminal activities.

It is also unclear in the existing literature being published on the subject that whether misdemeanor arrests or situational strategies being employed have resulted in controlling crime that arises due to abandoned buildings.The methodology employed by Braga and Bond (2008) is scanning, analysis, response, and assessment (SARA) model. The policing efforts are the focus of this research. Different steps were employed to decrease the crime rate in the area. Situational strategies provided by the most effective means to decrease the crime rate. Since the perception of offenders regarding vacant buildings was changed, by means of securing the abandoned buildings, there was observed to be somewhat moderate reduction in the crime percentage of the area.

Abandoning a building is considered to part of incivilities that governments are bound to reduce. Therefore, studies such as those conducted by Braga and Bond (2008) as well as Immergluck and Smith (2006) provide a framework to address the limitations of the previous researchers specifically that of landmark study conducted by Wilson and Kelling in 1982. Since there still exists considerable ambiguity regarding the use of words such as 'disorder' in the policing efforts, the researchers have also emphasized the need that all the U.S. states shall employ less broad base definitions of terms such as disorder.

Limitations of previous studies

Many previous studies that have been conducted on the issue of crime and relationship with physical and social disorders such abandonment of buildings area not based on empirical evidence. The study conducted by Bragaand Bond (2008) has the limitation of relying on data provided by the police department. Since the official data fails to record or report effects of treatment on the disorder addressed, the results that are generated may have some inconsistencies.

The study conducted by Immergluckand Smith (2006) ignores if any simultaneity between the assessed factors of rise in foreclosures and increase in crime rate. The study concludes that foreclosures enable a higher rate of crime in the area whereas a situation that could have been otherwise, for instance an increase in crime rate could have triggered foreclosures, was not addressed or analyzed. Thus, another study shall be conducted by the authors to validate their findings by assessing the impact of crime rate increase on the foreclosures.

Most of the studies being conducted on the issue of crime rate increment through physical and social disorder have been quasi-experimental. An elaborate and methodologically sound study has not been conducted, specifically to test the theory of window breaking. The studies being analyzed in the paper also provide some insight into the limitations of earlier studies.