Crime Patterns and Socioeconomic Development: A Cross-National Analysis

This study explores the relationship between the rates and patterns of crime and various socioeconomic factors in a cross-national context. Using Interpol crime data and socioeconomic statistics of 44 countries, multivariate analyses were conducted for three separate time periods. The findings indicate that larceny and murder rates relate differently to socioeconomic variables, indicating that modernization does not have a uniform effect on the various offense patterns. Across time, however, some of the relationships and predictive powers of the various socioeconomic factors concerning crime may change.