Over the last two decades, several theories have emerged to account for the social distribution of criminal victimization. Testing these theories is important to advancing our understanding of crime. In addition, public policy regarding crime control also depends on the validity of victimization theories. For example, citizen-initiated crime prevention activities such as private security systems and neighborhood block watch are based on assumptions about the causes of crime and the spatial distribution of crime and victimization. Unfortunately, limitations of existing data preclude systematic study of competing victimization theories and the utility of various crime control activities. This project is designed to overcome the limitations of previous victimization studies by collecting and compiling multiple sources of data (e.g. census, archival, police reports, telephone survey, field observation) on 5400 residents of 90 neighborhoods in a single city. These data will be used to describe changes in each neighborhood over time, test the predictive accuracy of a structural-choice theory of criminal victimization at various levels of analysis (i.e., neighborhoods, streets, and individuals), and examine whether individuals benefit from the crime control activity of their neighbors. Multivariate modeling approaches permit examining a range of issues, including whether a displacement or free rider effect best characterizes the impact of crime control activity on individuals' risks of victimization. This study will result in a comprehensive data collection on victimization, social control measures, and routine activities and lifestyles. No previous study has collected data on such issues that have a sufficient number of observations for multi- level analyses, include multiple measures of theoretically relevant variables, involve several modes of observation, and simultaneously consider individual and group processes. Through the examination of multiple primary and secondary data sources, the research will provide a unique opportunity to evaluate current victimization theories and the crime-reduction benefits of crime control measures. The results should have an impact on theories of social change and victimization as well as on programmatic strategies for crime reduction.
