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Mobilizing Law in Urban Areas: The Social Structure of Homicide Clearance Rates

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 April 2024

Marian J. Borg  and
Karen F. Parker
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Abstract

This research explores the utility of Black's theory of law for explaining differences in homicide clearance rates across large cities in the United States. Using insights from the social disorganization literature, we develop and evaluate hypotheses regarding homicide clearance rates and aggregate measures of stratification, morphology, culture, organization, and alternative social control. Our findings support the argument that the rate of clearing homicide cases varies according to the social characteristics of the location where they occur. In particular, clearance rates were highest in cities marked by greater racial disparities in education, income, employment, and residence; greater residential stability; higher levels of educational attainment; higher expenditures for educational programs; and lower rates of homicide. We discuss the implications of our analysis for both the social disorganization literature and Black's theory, and we suggest directions for further inquiry into the relationship between structural conditions in urban areas and homicide clearance rates.

Type
Research Article
Information
Law & Society Review , Volume 35 , Issue 2 , 2001 , pp. 435 - 466
Copyright
Copyright © 2001 Law and Society Association.

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Footnotes

The contributions of the authors are equal in this research.

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