Guest Editorial: Methodological Issues in Longitudinal Analyses of Criminal Violence

This editorial introduces the IJCV Focus Section on Methodological Issues in Longitudinal Analyses of Criminal Violence. Longitudinal designs offer distinctive advantages for purposes of making causal inferences with observational data, but significant challenges must be confronted as well.  The purpose of this editorial is to highlight some of the more important methodological issues that arise in longitudinal analyses, describe in general terms selected approaches for dealing with them, and indicate ways in which the papers included in this focus section skilfully apply methodological techniques for longitudinal analyses to address substantively important issues pertaining to criminal violence

Editorial Remarks: Youth at Risk

Youth must always be analysed with respect to two aspects: Firstly, as a societally shaped phase of life that varies socially and culturally across countries and regions, characterized by different chances of social integration and dangers of disintegration. Secondly, as individual biographies playing out in a specific societal dynamic of integration/disintegration, where experiences with violence as perpetrators or victims play an important role. Life in particular societal constellations presents risks for certain parts of the young generation, just as the behavior of youth may itself pose risks in some societal situations. The way the general relationship varies across different national and cultural contexts is the question we have chosen to home in on in this issue of the journal. Post-war, post-dictatorial, developing, transformative, and precarious societal contexts form consistent points of reference for the contributions, which include both country-specific case studies and comparative investigations

Identifying a spatial scale for the analysis of residential burglary: An empirical framework based on point pattern analysis

A key issue in the spatial and temporal analysis of residential burglary is the choice of scale: spatial patterns might differ appreciably for different time periods and vary across geographic units of analysis. Based on point pattern analysis of burglary incidents in Columbus, Ohio during a 9-year period, this study develops an empirical framework to identify a useful spatial scale and its dependence on temporal aggregation. Our analysis reveals that residential burglary in Columbus clusters at a characteristic scale of 2.2 km. An ANOVA test shows no significant impact of temporal aggregation on spatial scale of clustering. This study demonstrates the value of point pattern analysis in identifying a scale for the analysis of crime patterns. Furthermore, the characteristic scale of clustering determined using our method has great potential applications: (1) it can reflect the spatial environment of criminogenic processes and thus be used to define the spatial boundary for place-based policing; (2) it can serve as a candidate for the bandwidth (search radius) for hot spot policing; (3) its independence of temporal aggregation implies that police officials need not be concerned about the shifting sizes of risk-areas depending on the time of the year

Proactive Policing and Robbery Rates Across US Cities

Author's manuscript made available in accordance with the publisher's policy.In recent years, criminologists, as well as journalists, have devoted considerable attention to the potential deterrent effect of what is sometimes referred to as “proactive” policing. This policing style entails the vigorous enforcement of laws against relatively minor offenses to prevent more serious crime. The current study examines the effect of proactive policing on robbery rates for a sample of large U.S. cities using an innovative measure developed by Sampson and Cohen (1988). We replicate their cross-sectional analyses using data from 2000 to 2003, which is a period that proactive policing is likely to have become more common than that of the original study—the early 1980s. We also extend their analyses by estimating a more comprehensive regression model that incorporates additional theoretically relevant predictors. Finally, we advance previous research in this area by using panel data, The cross-sectional analyses replicate prior findings of a negative relationship between proactive policing and robbery rates. In addition, our dynamic models suggest that proactive policing is endogenous to changes in robbery rates. When this feedback between robbery and proactive policing is eliminated, we find more evidence to support our finding that proactive policing reduces robbery rates

Editorial: Letter from the Editors

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Editorial: Letter from the Editors

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Editorial: Letter from the Editors

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Editorial: Letter from the Editors

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Innovation and Tradition

Bohner G, Crutchfield RD, Messner SF, Zick A. Innovation and Tradition. International Journal of Conflict and Violence (IJCV). 2017;11

Editorial

This issue of the International Journal of Conflict and Violence focuses on the topic of anomie/anomia. We would like to thank the guest editors, Steven F. Messner (University of Albany, New York) and Helmut Thome (Martin Luther University, Halle-Wittenberg) for the very fruitful and productive collaboration, and the impressive collection of papers they have put together