PERSONAL CRIME AND DELINQUENCY RATES IN LOS ANGELES: A SOCIAL AREA ANALYSIS

Abstract

This paper compares the effects of different measures of the social and physical composition of census tracts on their crime rates for Los Angeles, 1970. The analysis uses three measures of tract composition based on the Shevky-Bell social area typology. In addition to the social rank, familism, and ethnicity measures, several measures of the physical composition of census tracts are included in a multiple regression analysis. As expected, social rank and the ethnicity measures have strong effects on the number ofpersonal crimes reported to the police and on the number of juvenile arrests. Contrary to much previous research, familism does not have a significant effect on either crime measure.